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History · River Bend

River Bend’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of River Bend. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

River Bend is a town in Craven County. As of the 2020 census, River Bend had a population of 2,902. It is part of the New Bern, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,119 to 2,902 (-7%). Half of its homes were built before 1985.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of River Bend yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start River Bend’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how River Bend’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from River BendWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in River Bend.Meet them →
By decade

River Bend, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in River Bend is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean River Bend has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Foscue and Simmons Plantations in Pollocksville, 3.5 miles away.

River Bend and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = River Bend. Tap a dot.
Foscue and Simmons PlantationsDr. Earl S. Sloan HouseGhent Historic DistrictBryan Lavender HouseDeGraffenried Park Historic DistrictBarber, J.T., School

Closest to River Bend

Foscue and Simmons PlantationsPollocksville · Built 18253.5miDr. Earl S. Sloan HouseTrent Woods · Building3.9miGhent Historic DistrictNew Bern · Built 19065.6miBryan Lavender HousePollocksville · Building5.7miDeGraffenried Park Historic DistrictNew Bern · District5.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Foscue and Simmons Plantations’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in River Bend?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to River Bend’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Trent Woods📜 New Bern📜 Pollocksville📜 Bridgeton
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in River Bend, NCView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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