U.S. 70 welcomes travelers to historic New Bern

North Carolina history bubbles up everywhere you look in New Bern, a vibrant city in Craven County. U.S. Route 70 right runs through the city…and probably always will…because New Bern sits on the tip of a peninsula and is semi-surrounded by water. 

New Bern is situated at the confluence of the Neuse and Trent rivers. The community was formed in the early 1700s by Swiss and German immigrants who named the place after Bern, the capital of Switzerland.

 

The city emblem, as in old Bern, is a black bear going up a golden road. Locals refer to New Bern as “Bear Town.”

 

New Bern claims to be the second oldest town in North Carolina. (Bath in Beaufort County came first; it was chartered in 1705.) 

The crown jewel of New Bern is Tryon Palace, a lavish Georgian brick mansion that William Tryon, the British Colonial governor, had built in 1770. It was the colonial capitol as well as the Tryon family estate.

 

Following the Revolutionary War, Tryon Palace hosted the first sessions of the general assembly of the new State of North Carolina and housed the state governors until 1794, when the capital was moved to Raleigh. 

The Tryon Palace buildings have been beautifully restored, and the property, with its lush and elaborate gardens, attracts heritage tourism enthusiasts from all over.

 

Another popular draw in the downtown district is The Pepsi Store, the birthplace of Pepsi-Cola. The popular soft drink was invented on this site by Caleb Davis Bradham in 1893. 

A native of Chinquapin in Duplin County, N.C., Caleb Bradham was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and studied in Baltimore, Md., to become a physician.

 

Unfortunately, a family crisis forced Bradham to drop his pursuit of a medical degree and return home to North Carolina. He taught school for a short time before opening Bradham’s Drug Store in New Bern. 

It is here that “Brad’s Drink” was developed – a concoction of “sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, nutmeg and other natural additives.” 

Bradham believed the drink was more than a refreshment but a “healthy” cola, aiding in digestion. He renamed the beverage “Pepsi-Cola” in 1898, getting its roots from the word “dyspepsia,” meaning indigestion. 

Bradham formed the Pepsi-Cola Company in 1902, and “Pepsi-Cola” became an official trademark in 1903. Bradham began selling his syrup to franchised bottlers. The company was serving customers in 24 states by 1910. 

Production was disrupted during World War I, “due to the high price and severe rationing of sugar.” Pepsi Cola went bankrupt in 1923, and the road back was a rocky one through the better part of the next three decades. 

Perhaps Pepsi’s most famous “celebrity ambassador” was film star Joan Crawford. She married Alfred Steele, president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola, in 1955. (He was Crawford’s fourth husband, and she was Steele’s third wife.)

 

After Steele’s death in 1959, Crawford succeeded him on Pepsi’s board of directors. She was the first woman to sit on the company’s board. She continued in that role until 1973, when she reached age 65 and was required to retire. 

She once told her fans: “Every time you drink a Pepsi, I want you to think of Joan Crawford. If you drink Coke, you can think of those polar bears.” 

On the other hand, black bears are loveable creatures and an adored and protected species in New Bern.