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==History== The Southport area was explored in the 1500s by Spanish explorers. During the 18th century, British settlements along the Carolina coast lacked fortifications to protect against pirates and privateers, and numerous Spanish attackers exploited this weakness. In response to these attacks, Governor [[Gabriel Johnston]] in 1744 appointed a committee to select the best location to construct a fort for the defense of the Cape Fear River region. It was determined that the fort should be constructed at a site at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. During the same year, [[Kingdom of France|France]] declared war against [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]], later known as [[King George's War]], increasing the fort's need. Further, increasingly bold Spanish [[privateer]] raids led the North Carolina General Assembly to authorize the construction of "Johnston's Fort" in April 1745, which would come to be known as [[Fort Johnston (North Carolina)|Fort Johnston]]. The governor of South Carolina agreed to lend ten small cannons for the fort, and the legislature, in spring 1748, appropriated 2,000 pounds for construction costs, and construction finally began. Southport developed around Fort Johnston.<ref name="Scott">{{cite book | last = Dickson | first = Scott | title = In Search of Mayberry | url = https://archive.org/details/searchmayberrygu00dick | url-access = limited | publisher = Parkway Publishers, Inc | year = 2005 | location = Boone, North Carolina | page = [https://archive.org/details/searchmayberrygu00dick/page/n97 85] | isbn = 9781887905985 }}</ref> Southport was founded as the town of Smithville in 1792.<ref name="History of Southport">{{cite web| url=http://www.southporthistoricalsociety.org/history |title=History of Southport|access-date=2013-02-13}}</ref> Joshua Potts had requested the formation of a town adjacent to Fort Johnston, and the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] formed a commission of five men to administer its founding. The town was named after [[Benjamin Smith (North Carolina)|Benjamin Smith]], a colonel in the [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] and later [[governor of North Carolina]].<ref name="History of Southport"/> Smithville grew as a fishing village and through supporting military activity. Smithville was the county seat of [[Brunswick County, North Carolina|Brunswick County]] from 1808 to 1977.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.carolana.com/NC/Towns/Bolivia_NC.html| title=A History of Bolivia, North Carolina| access-date=2011-08-09}}</ref> In an effort to promote the town as a major shipping port, Smithville was renamed Southport in 1887.<ref name="History of Southport"/> [[Smithville Township, Brunswick County, North Carolina|Smithville Township]], in which Southport lies, and other local landmarks, such as the cemetery, retain the Smithville name. [[file:WB&S Postcard.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Old Train Station on Rhett St.]] Interest in making Southport a major commercial port then prompted efforts to connect it via rail to [[Wilmington, North Carolina|Wilmington]] and the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad|Atlantic Coast Line]]/[[Seaboard Air Line Railroad]] systems. After some 25 years of failed effort by various entrepreneurs, the Wilmington, Brunswick and Southern Railroad began operation in 1911. Running northwest out of Southport to [[Bolivia, North Carolina|Bolivia]], the line then turned northeast towards [[Navassa, North Carolina|Navassa]] where it joined the existing rail network. Poorly constructed, beset with continued revenue shortfalls and facing intense and growing competition from trucks/automobiles, the 30 mile long railroad ceased operation in 1945. Ten years later, it would be the U.S. Government who would construct the present rail line from the [[Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point]] just north of Southport to the interior rail system along a different, more direct path.<ref name="Koenig">{{cite book|last =Koenig|first=Mark|title=Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern Railroad|publisher=The History Press|year=2022|isbn=978-1467150378}}</ref> Thus, while the renaming to Southport did not achieve its goal of making the town a major shipping port, Southport instead became known for its relaxed atmosphere and Victorian era seaside charm.
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