by Edward Ellis, Special Correspondent
Tryon Palace is New Bern’s historical gem and a powerful magnet for North Carolina tourism. It may surprise some folks to know that in the early 1950s the site was a residential area with a city street running through it. The Palace might still be only a memory today if not for several decades of tireless work by a dedicated handful of local history lovers.
Two of the mainstays of the effort were Maude Moore Latham and her daughter, May Gordon Latham Kellenberger. The photos of the women, at right, appear on a nine-inch glossy bookmark we recently came across. A note at the bottom says, “This publication was made possible by a grant from the Kellenberger Historical Foundation.” It features a portrait of Mrs. Latham with her brief biography on one side and the same for Mrs. Kellenberger on the other.
According to the bookmark, Mrs. Latham (1871-1951) was the “First Chairman of the Tryon Palace Commission” serving from 1945 until her death. She endowed two trust funds to benefit the restoration of the Palace. “For more than twenty years, this New Bern native focused public attention on preserving North Carolina’s historical and architectural heritage,” the biography states. “In 1939, she underwrote in part the landmark publication Old Homes and Gardens of North Carolina, which called for the rebuilding of Tryon Palace.” The idea was a hit. At her urging, the N.C. General Assembly created the Tryon Palace Commission and purchased the original Palace site.
Her daughter, Mrs. Kellenberger (1893-1978), served as “Chairman of the Tryon Palace Commission” from 1951 to the year of her passing. She is listed as the benefactor of the Kellenberger Historical Foundation in 1978. “Mrs. Kellenberger carried Tryon Palace’s reconstruction to its fruition,” her biography states. “Assisted by her husband, John A. Kellenberger … she oversaw the reconstruction and furnishing of the Palace, as well as its public opening in 1959.”
With the help of many other volunteers and donors, this mother and daughter team provided the solid footing for the remarkable Tryon Palace complex we know today.