As the house is used frequently for Historical Society functions, the Attmore-Oliver House is not strictly a museum. However, it provides a uniqure opportunity for visitors to see a home lived in by only two New Bern families throughout most of the 19th century and half of the 20th century.

Wedding & Event Rental: Rent the Gardens and Grounds of the Attmore-Oliver House for your Special Event. With its wide porches, grounds and gardens, this historic property enhances social events such as weddings, receptions and meetings and returns guests to the days of New Bern’s southern legacy.

Clouds of the Civil War gathered around New Bern and three of Hannah Oliver’s brothers enlisted in the Confederate army. Her oldest brother, Sitgreaves Attmore and her middle brother, Isaac Taylor Attmore, died while in Confederate service. The youngest Attmore boy, George, was only 13 when the war began. He was wounded while serving in the Confederate army but survived. The house, too, survived the burdens of the war, to provide residence for yet another generation of the Attmore-Oliver family.

William and Hannah’s daughter Mary Taylor Oliver eventually became the sole owner of the house. She ran the family insurance business from her home and died in 1951 at age 91. The New Bern Historical Society purchased the house from her four nephews in 1954 for $30,000.