Annual Conference

The 36th Annual NC Maritime History Council Conference will be held at Tryon Palace, New Bern, NC. The theme of the conference is "Finding Common Waters: NC and US."
The 36th Annual NC Maritime History Council Conference will be held at Tryon Palace & NC History Center. Tryon Palace was originally built between 1767 and 1770 as the first permanent capitol of the Colony of North Carolina and a home for the Royal Governor and his family. Royal Governor Josiah Martine fled the estate in 1775 amid rising tensions with Whig or Patriots at the outset of the American Revolution. Following the war, on the evening of April 21, 1791, the Palace was the scene of a dinner and dancing assembly held in honor of America's first President, George Washington, who was exploring New Bern while on his Southern Tour. In February of 1798, a fire started in the cellar where hay was being stored. The fire quickly devastated the main building, which collapsed, but the Kitchen and Stable Offices were saved. In the 1930s a movement began to restore North Carolina’s first capitol. In the 1950s, the site was cleared, highways altered, and extensive archaeological work was completed that uncovered the original building foundation. Using the original architectural plans, the Palace was rebuilt and opened to the public in April 1959, as North Carolina’s first great public history project. The North Carolina History Center, located next to the restored Tryon Palace, is a new museum with rotating exhibits that will transport you through time and the Regional History Museum takes you from the very formation of the coastline to the people who shaped the history of this region.