Southport, North Carolina is one of the oldest communities in coastal North Carolina, with ties to virtually every major American event. The town was originally named Smithville in 1792, after Benjamin Smith, who had served under General George Washington in the Revolutionary War. This little seacoast town is located at the mouth of the tidal Cape Fear River and on the Intracoastal Waterway – a 3,000-mile waterway consisting of canals, bays, inlets, saltwater rivers and bays running from Florida to Massachusetts along the Atlantic and then following the Gulf Coast to Texas. The nearby beach towns are not far away: Oak Island is 12 miles away, Sunset Beach is36 miles away and Ocean Isle Beach is 31 miles away.
Fort Johnston, North Carolina’s oldest fort, was built in 1749 to protect the lower Cape Fear from Spanish and French raids. Built in 1775, it was burned by Patriots, marking one of the first acts of armed defiance against British rule in North Carolina. Rebuilt after the war, it became a key coastal defense, later falling under Confederate control during the Civil War before being taken by Union forces in 1865. It served as a U.S. Army post, a center for colonial defense, and a base for blockade runners. The only surviving structure, the 1810 Officers’ Quarters, now houses the Fort Johnston-Southport Museum and Visitor Center, which is part of the Southport Historical Society. The Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
The North Carolina Maritime Museum traces its roots to a small, local shop on Howe Street, evolving into a state-sponsored institution in 1999. It moved to its current location, the historic officer’s quarters at Fort Johnston, on Independence Day in 2010. The museum focuses on the maritime history of the Lower Cape Fear region. Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m, closed on Sundays, Mondays, and designated state holidays. Admission is free.
Southport’s Fourth of July Festival celebration is well known thru the United States was first recorded in 1795. Known then as the “Festival of Free Men, ” anchored harbor ships would discharge salutes from their cannons throughout the entire day. By the 1950s the name changed to the “Live Oak Festival” celebrated with balls and parades. In the 1960s, foundations emerged- Southport Jaycees, Southport Junior Woman’s started the 4 day “Arts Festival”. True patriotic spirit came alive with the 4th day Fourth of July Festival and parade as well as a Naturalization Ceremony, Veterans Recognition Ceremony, Flag Retirement Ceremony, and Flag Raising Ceremony. The waterfront has festival dancing in the street and the city park, Franklin Square Park, has over 100 handmade arts and craft vendors tents and booths. The finale is a giant fireworks display explodes at dark over the Cape Fear River.
Built in 1904 for $6,738, the Old Brunswick County Jail located at 18 E Nash Street, Southport, NC 28461 Southport, NC, served as the county’s primary detention facility for more than 70 years until 1971. The building featuring a unique, two-story design with a jailer’s residence on the bottom floor and cells upstairs. The facility, designed to house up to 11 inmates, was used for minor offenses and replaced earlier, insecure wooden structures. It is now a museum managed by the Southport Historical Society. The building was used for a number of scenes for the 1986 movie Crimes of the Heart.
The Museum is open for free docent tours during the summer season April through October, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm.
Southport’s Summer Markets run every Wednesday from 9 am to 1 pm starting Memorial Day through Labor Day (no market the week of July 4th due to the July 4th celebration). Fall Markets continue same day and time from the mid Sept thru mid Nov. Located at the city’s Waterfront Park on 105 E Bay Street next to the city pier and across from Fort Johnson.
Several popular films and TV shows were filmed here:
2025 Netflix drama series “Waterfront”.
