Lunch & Learn with Joe Mobley

Popular speaker Joe Mobley returns to New Bern to introduce his new book Colonial North Carolina, a look at the earliest days of the Old North State. Mobley will share his account of the first permanent European settlement of the province of Carolina; exploring the Carolina Charter which granted the region to the Lords Proprietors, who owned and governed North Carolina until it became a royal colony in 1730.

The history of North Carolina began before the first European explorers gazed upon its shores. Its native inhabitants had long dominated the land and waterways. Before the colonial era ended vast numbers of English, Scottish, Swiss, Germans, French, Welsh, and Africans had immigrated to North Carolina, pushing Native Americans to the margins and leaving their mark on the culture of the colony. In some ways, colonial North Carolina was unique in the early American experience. Join us as we learn what made this area unique and how it became what we know and experience today. 

Joe A. Mobley earned an M.A. from North Carolina State University. A prolific historical researcher and writer, he has authored and edited multiple books on a variety of topics in North Carolina history, including James City: A Black Community in North Carolina, 1863-1900 and North Carolina Governor Richard Caswell: Founding Father and Revolutionary Hero and received the North Caroliniana Book Award for best book on North Carolina. He taught history at North Carolina State University after retiring from the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. 

Prepaid reservations required. Cost is $24 for Historical Society members and $27 for nonmembers, which includes your meal, drinks, service, and gratuity.