Historic City of the Cape Fear Overlooking the beautiful Cape Fear River, the historic city of Southport stands almost within hearing of the breaker's of North Carolina's fabled Atlantic Coast. The charming old Southern city served as the setting for the movie "Crimes of the Heart," in which it doubled as an Old South town in Mississippi. Several other movies have also been filmed in the picturesque community that traces its roots to before the American Revolution. As late as 1745, the British had built no forts to defend the Cape Fear region from enemy attack. Things changed that year when work began on Fort Johnston, an important post that served both to defend settlements up the river and as a quarantine station for ships and sailors coming into port. A community of fishermen, pilots and traders slowly grew around the fort, marking the earliest days of what is now known as Southport. To the shock of North Carolina's Royal Governor, the Cape Fear region proved to be in strong support of the independence movement that swept through the American colonies following the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. Forced to take refuge on a warship in the Cape Fear River during the earliest days of the American Revolution, Governor Josiah Martin watched as a band of patriots raided and burned Fort Johnston. The action, which took place on July 18, 1775, was one of the earliest of the Revolutionary War. The destruction of Fort Johnston, however, did not mark the end of Southport. Because of the twisting and dangerous channel of the Cape Fear, the need for river pilots was great and this created a need for a permanent community. In 1792, the town of Smithville was incorporated at today's Southport. Named for Governor Benjamin Smith, a hero of the American Revolution, the town was named the county seat of Brunswick County, an honor it would retain until 1975. The town survived the War of 1812 and in 1816 the U.S. Army completed work on a new Fort Johnston that would serve to protect the lower Cape Fear for the next 20 years. It was eventually replaced by Fort Caswell on Oak Island, but Smithville continued to thrive. After President Abraham Lincoln refused to order the evacuation of Fort Sumter in South Carolina, prompting Confederate forces to bombard the fort into submission, Governor John W. Ellis ordered state forces to occupy Fort Johnston and nearby Fort Caswell. This marked the beginning of the city's history as a major port for blockade runners making their way into and out of the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Confederate engineers quickly turned the lower Cape Fear into one of the most heavily fortified areas in the South. Fort Fisher was built on Federal (Confederate) Point and strong forts and batteries went up around Smithville, on Baldhead Island and up and down the lower river. These kept Union invaders out of the Cape Fear River until Fort Fisher fell to a massive land and sea attack on January 15, 1865. The battle effectively closed the lower river and led to the evacuation of Fort Caswell, Smithville (Southport) and most of the other defenses in the area. Smithville rebounded after the war and its name was changed to Southport in 1887. It lost the title of county seat in 1975, but retained its beautiful historic charm and appeal. By the 1980s, the city had emerged as a popular setting for filmmakers. It also is noted as the hometown of famed author Robert Ruark. Southport today is a beautiful coast city that is a major attraction for visitors on its own, but is also known as the gateway to Bald Head Island and the lower coast of North Carolina
Courtesy of http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/southportnc.html