When Smithville N.C. Became Southport N.C.-- Part 1

From the July 30m 2020, Jacksonville (N.C.) Daily News  "Cape Fear Unearthed:  How Smithville became Southport" by Hunter Ingram.

The latest episode of a podcast "Cape Fear Unearthed."

During the Civil War, the town of Southport was called Smithville, the name it had had since the 1700s.  It was originally  designated as Fort Johnston in the 1740s and was supposed to protect the growing and thriving  ports of Brunswick Town and Wilmington.

But, it never became a major fort and the town of Smithville grew up around the ruins of the fort after the American revolution and a favorite escape the heat spot for Wilmington residents.  Over time and through at least three major wars, Smithville flourished, even after becoming Southport in 1887.

That is why it is the Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry instead of the Smithville-Fort Fisher Ferry.

--Old B-Runner