Southport was founded in 1792 as Smithville. It was originally named after Benjamin Smith, who was a colonel in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and later became a governor of North Carolina. The name was changed to Southport in 1887 in an effort to promote the town as a major shipping port. Southport sits on the bank of the Cape Fear River just a few miles inland of the Atlantic Ocean, so it is rich in maritime history. Fort Johnston, also located within Southport, was built by the British in 1748 to protect the Cape Fear River Region from pirates and privateers.
