Did you know that there is a significant French heritage in Eastern North Carolina? The first European explorers to this region in the early sixteenth century were French. Local legend has it that there was even a lost colony of French Huguenots along the Trent River during the early 1700s. What is the source of this legend? Was the French colony truly lost?
For answers, join the New Bern Historical Society on June 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Cullman Performance Hall at the North Carolina History Center at 529 S. Front Street. Speaker, Dr. Dudley Marchi, will trace the early days of French settlement in this region and explore the subtle but significant French influence that remains to this day. In French, the word “histoire” means both history and story. This intriguing presentation will be a mélange of both, conveying the French heritage of NC through images of places, people, maps, and historical documents.
Dr. Dudley Marchi is a Professor of Humanities at NC State University, where he teaches courses on European history, art, and French-American relations. He is passionate about history and French and has an avid interest in North Carolina history. Marchi is a 1982 graduate of UMass Amherst, with a BA in English, American, and Comparative Literature. He received his M.A. in Comparative Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill, and Ph.D. in the same from Columbia.
This presentation on “La Colonie Perdue” is part of a larger research project which culminated with the publication of his latest book “The French Heritage of North Carolina.” Marchi will remain after the presentation for a book signing, with his book available for purchase onsite from the Tryon Palace bookstore.
This presentation will start at 6:30 p.m., doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $10 for Historical Society members, $13 for nonmembers. Prepaid reservations are suggested and can be made at www.NewBernHistorical.org/tickets or by calling the Historical Society at 252-638-8558.
Submitted by Kathy Morrison on behalf of Mickey Miller, Executive Director