A Great Lady and Tryon Palace's Biggest Advocate



Carraway Garden at Tryon Palace



In the April 8 News & Observer, I read the article

Gertrude Sprague Carraway

Past Times by Teresa Leonard, a researcher who looks at yesteryear on the blog Past Times, blogs.newsobserver.com/pasttimes. In this column, she  related a 1966 interview with Gertrude Carraway, a famous New Bernian who was born and spent nearly all of her 96 years in New Bern, living in her childhood home on Broad Street.

I enjoyed reading the article immensely as I had the privilege of knowing Ms. Carraway. I was a great fan and admirer and the award I received that I am most proud of is the Gertrude Carraway Award of Merit from the Historic Preservation in 1990.

She was an outstanding person and was one of the driving forces for her work in the preservation and reconstruction of Tryon Palace. She played a key role in initiating a campaign to move NC 70, the Trent River Bridge and the numerous houses that have been built on the Palace site over the years. The Palace, built in 1767-70 to house Royal Governor William Tryon, had burned in the late 1770’s and only one of its wings remained. By 1959, the efforts of Ms. Carraway, the Kellenberger family and many other influential people paid off when the reconstructed Palace was opened and became New Bern’s crown jewel as a tourist attraction.

Other passions included membership in the Magellan Club of World Circumnavigation for going around the world twice; as a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she became President General of the National DAR in 1953. In that position she inspired President Eisenhower to establish National Constitution Week. She was a prolific writer serving as the editor of the newspaper in New Bern from 1924-1937 and authored six books on North Carolina history, in addition to hundreds of free lance articles.

It was nice to be reminded of the positive impact this dynamic, great lady, who passed away in the 1990’s, made on this city, our state and nation’s history!

Susan Moffat Thomas

Executive Director