Exhibits at Academy

Admission to the New Bern Academy Museum is FREE.  The New Bern Academy is located four blocks from Tryon Palace, 508 New Street, in the heart of New Bern’s historic residential district. For more information about visiting the New Bern Academy Museum, please call 252-639-3500.

“Face to Face: Civil War Sketches and Stories”

Experience New Bern’s Occupation through the eyes of African Americans, Confederates, Union soldiers, and women caught between both North and South. Spanning the March 1862 invasion of Burnside’s forces, through the devastation of the 1864 yellow fever epidemic, “Face to Face” reveals the daily lives of both military officials and citizens under their rule through artifacts, audiovisual panels, compelling stories, and period images.

Architecture Exhibit

Focuses on the historic architecture of New Bern, the construction techniques used in erecting buildings in this region, and on the lives and work of New Bern’s 18th- and 19th-century builders and architects. Preserved building materials, drawings, and a portico donated by the New Bern Historical Society help illustrate New Bern’s Victorian, Federal, and Antebellum architecture.

Second Floor Exhibits

Civil War Military Occupation Exhibit

Focuses on the Confederate defense of the city, the Battle of New Bern, the Union occupation of New Bern, and the role that the Academy building played during the War.

History of Education Exhibit

This exhibit presents the history of education in New Bern from the late 18th through the 19th century, including a model Lancasterian schoolroom.

In the 20th century, the New Bern Academy was at first coeducational. Later, the classes were segregated with different curricula for each sex. Most students had to pay tuition to attend the Academy until 1899, when the school became a part of the New Bern City School System.

During the Civil War, the building was converted to a military hospital to treat victims of spinal meningitis, smallpox and yellow fever epidemics, as well as casualties of battle.