Newbern is a town in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 231. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to the design-build Rural Studio of Auburn University's school of architecture, which aims to teach students about the social responsibilities of the profession of architecture while also providing safe, well-constructed and inspirational homes and buildings for poor communities in rural west Alabama.