Tar Heel Travels

Southport, Home of History and Great Seafood

By Bill F. Hensley

It doesn't look like much from the outside or from the inside either. Yet this warm, homey gathering spot for tourists and homefolks alike is one of the most popular restaurants in the quaint seaport town of Southport.

The Yacht Basin Provision Co. doesn't look like a restaurant and signs on the building advertising supplies, provisions, charter boats and rental boats don't help. The nondescript waterfront building could be anything from a small hardware store to a repair shop.

But the food here is good, the atmosphere casual and the diners interesting and friendly. It's the kind of place you just want to relax and enjoy. The lunch and dinner menus offer fresh seafood, naturally, and a variety of inspiring entrees, much the same as Southport's other seafood restaurants such as the Sandfiddler, Ship's Chandler, Shrimp House and Sea Captain.

Like Southport itself, these are come-as-you-are places, laid back, informal, friendly and memorable. The small fishing village typifies life on the North Carolina coast, which revolves around boats and water and everything that accompanies them. And if fresh seafood is what you came for, there are two ways to get it: catch it yourself, which many visitors do, or buy it right off the boat when the captain pulls into the dock. Having it cooked for you in any of Southport's restaurants is the easy way out.

For more than 200 years, Southport has been a key part of our state's coastal heritage and once was the hideaway for swashbuckling pirates Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet. The village was founded in 1792 as Smithville, named for Benjamin Smith who was a principal landowner and aide de camp with George Washington. The name was changed in 1887 when promises of major railroads and port facilities would make it “the Port of the South.” Those promises never materialized, yet the village was always a beehive of activity centered around the military, fishing and boating.

Boats and fishing are still big in this off-the-beaten-path site between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach in North Carolina's fast-growing southeast, but the military disappeared years ago when defending our shores no longer was a top priority.

Southport, quiet and picturesque, is ideal for leisurely strolls or slow bike rides along streets lined with ancient live oaks and steeped in history. The homes, many built in the late 1770s and early 1800s, face the water or may be found on side streets near town.

There are small parks where visitors may watch the endless parade of boats headed for the open sea or see pelicans fuss as they play. And it's a place for antique lovers and admirers of the many stately homes that make up the serene village along the Cape Fear River and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Be sure to take the relaxed, self-guided tour that covers a mile and includes most of the town's significant attractions: homes, old cemeteries, churches, Fort Johnston, Franklin Square, and the Old Brunswick Jail. Special visits should be made to the Maritime Museum and its rare collection of memorabilia, and the Franklin Square Gallery that houses a unique collection of art works by local artisans.

Southport's River Walk and Waterfront Parks are the perfect place to sit, relax and enjoy the area's many scenic wonders. This is a land of lighthouses, fox squirrels, and the venus flytrap, and it's the jumping off spot for the many fine beaches — Oak Island, Holden, Sunset, Ocean Isle, Long, Yaupon and Caswell — and the ferry departure point for Bald Head Island and Fort Fisher.

If it's golf you want, you are in the midst of one of North Carolina's fastest growing meccas. During the past decade, Brunswick County has lead the way in building fine new golf courses and the total now stands at 30.

There are three courses at St. James Plantation, a sparking new 3,700-acre development that eventually will be home to 1,900 residents, either full or part time. In addition, there are three courses at nearby Sea Trail, and two each at Angel's Trace, The Pearl and Ocean Ridge Plantation.

Long regarded as sleepy and peaceful, Southport has managed to retain its small town charm in the face of a steady influx of folks seeking the good life. Because of its mild year-round climate, there is no high season, although summer remains the busiest part of the year. Even so, things move slowly here and that's the way the natives like it.

“We prize our lifestyle,” said Julie Atkinson, executive vice president of St. James Plantation. “Combine our high quality, the water, the climate, the friendly people and a variety of things to see and do, and you have a rare place to live. Our history and our heritage are truly unique.”

For more information, contact the Southport-Oak Island Chamber of Commerce at 1-800-457-6964.

COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. This article first appeared in the August 1999 issue of North Carolina magazine.