Day 189 - April 20, 2013: Side trip to New Bern

With a car in hand, we decided to take a side trip to New Bern about 35 miles north of Morehead City. First stop was the new North Carolina Historical Center that serves as a visitor center and historical museum for the area. The movie and displays were first rate, covering the history, landscapes and buildings. Next, we took a tour of the Stanly House, and the Tryon Palace.

The Stanly house was built in the 1780s for John Wright Stanly, who was a powerful businessman whose merchant ships raided British ships to aid the American cause during the Revolutionary War. This house, decorated in period pieces, is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the South. In 1791, President George Washington stayed at this house while on his Southern tour.

Stanly House (1780s)

The Tryon Palace is the centerpiece of historic places in this area. It served as the first permanent capitol of North Carolina and the home of Governor Tryon. It consisted of a main house, a kitchen house on the left, and a stable house on the right, plus acres of beautiful gardens in the style of European castles. It was the site of the first sessions of the General Assembly after the Revolution and housed the state governors until 1794. The palace burned down in 1798 and over 70 homes were built here. A 30-year campaign to rebuild to the original plans on the original foundations, resulted in completion in 1959 of what we saw today.

Tryon Palace

Gardens

Fountains

Our last stop was to see the site of the invention of Pepsi Cola by Caleb Bradham in 1898. Here we learned more about the inventor and even saw the original recipe.

Site of invention of Pepsi Cola

Original Pepsi Formula