photo #4293557

This is an old postcard of downtown New Bern, probably from the early 1900's. What you are looking at is the Middle Street canal that ran from the Trent River up Middle Street to South Front Street. Commercial fishing was a large part of the economy during this time and fishermen would bring their catch up the canal where it was sold, processed, and kept on ice in the warehouses that line each side of the canal.