Southport North Carolina

Looking for a home in the friendly beach towns of Southport NC.

Tucked away just below Wilmington and the mouth of the Cape Fear River and just 45 minutes or so above the South Carolina state line you'll find Southport. Centuries of boating men and women have left their mark on this village.

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Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate, was repairing his vessel in a nearby creek when he was captured.

Southport community is comprised of six municipalities -- the towns of Caswell Beach, Oak Island (Long Beach and Yaupon Beach) and the Village of Bald Head Island combine for over 28 miles of sandy beaches and some of the most visible lighthouses in North Carolina. For over 200 years the historic coastal community of Southport has guarded the mouth of the Cape Fear River and continues to be the lightkeeper of its history. Boiling Spring Lakes, one of the fastest growing cities in our area, takes its name from the over 50 bubbling spring lakes. The newly incorporated Town of St. James lies along the Intracoastal Waterway and marsh land.

It's a town close enough to Wilmington to reach the conveniences of a big city and college campuses, yet just out of reach of the interstate traffic. The road from Wilmington passes a southern attraction, Orton Plantation, which is open to the public in the spring and summer months. The two-lane slowly meanders towards the coast, live oaks hang across the highway. Just before you get to town there are the conveniences of the super stores so you aren't ''in the woods'' entirely. Southport touts a 2,600 year round population that spurts up with the temperatures.

The Southport NC Visitor Center is easily found on a walk about town. The Center provides a nice selection of brochures outlining local attractions, businesses, restaurants, medical services, art galleries and the local Southport Trail, an hour walk though town and live oak trees, around corners, through graveyards - three centuries of history. Several movies have been filmed here. ''Crimes of the Heart'', starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lang and Sissy Spacek was filmed at the Northrop House. An Oprah Winfrey movie, ''The Wedding,'' and ''Summer Catch'' are a few more names to look for in the video store if you want to catch a bit of the view before coming.

Several marinas in the area cater to the dock and dry lift boat enthusiasts and their services spill over to non-boaters. Fosters, located just behind the Southport Marina, offers a user-friendly ships' store, grocery, deli, kayak and bike rental, and a wash and fold service for the laundry-bound traveler. Steve Foster and Robin Schuster opened the store in 1999. ''We've got it all for coastal cruisers,'' he exclaimed when I walked over to talk with him and to drop off my laundry! Coastal cruisers come by car, boat or by plane to this quaint town. There is a small airport for private planes to land. Nearby Wilmington offers a larger airport (ILM) servicing the southeastern NC region.

Southport NC has always attracted sailors, the earliest visiting the area in 1524 and 1526 were French and Spanish explorers. The first European vessel constructed in the New World was built on these banks of the lower Cape Fear River. The town still reaches out to ocean going vessels and Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) cruisers. The River Pilot's Tower stands on Bay Street looking over the mouth or the river, providing pilot services to ocean going ships traveling the Cape Fear. The town offers one free transient spot at the end of the dock in the town harbor.

You will find folks looking for relaxation and retirement opportunities as well as young people who wish to escape the stress and traffic of large city living. Children of Southport no longer move away on graduation but stay to work in the community and start their own businesses. At one time the fishing industry and summer restaurants provided the only work for the young. St. James Plantation is a new development for the area. Providing a gated community, golf courses, and pleasant community atmosphere. Several options for housing are available in this area from the sprawling new waterfront homes, to original cottages, columned manors, town houses and condominiums. Local schools are a manageable size and teachers' remember your name when you meet on the street.

The Indigo Plantation Marina beside the high-rise bridge harbors the Bald Head Island Ferry, another day's journey if you have the inclination. South Harbor Village is also open. When you get tired of looking and shopping go down to the waterfront and rock in a swing across from the Whittlers' Bench. Listen to locals talk about fishing and politics and watch the boats and gulls. Browsing for a future home, summer cottage or overnight stay will take determination to narrow your scope because there are so many options.

Originally incorporated in 1792 as Smithville, its progressive citizens changed its name to Southport in 1887 in hopes of attracting a port. The port went further upstream to the City of Wilmington but this entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the City today. The historic charm of this community will captivate you as you walk under a canopy of 200 year old live oak trees, or walk past majestic Victorian century homes which once belonged to river pilots or maybe even a pirate or two. Southport is one of few Cities with a true downtown. Banks, antique & collectible shops, restaurants, and professional offices line about a five block area in the downtown commercial district. Just outside this district is one of the finest medical care facilities in our region, J.A. Dosher Memorial Hospital. A visit to our area is not complete without a day or two of walking through these antique and specialty shops, stopping along the way for a leisurely lunch at an outside pub or restaurant along the waterfront or yacht basin, taking a pedicab historic tour of the City, watching transoceanic vessels pass by at Waterfront Park and visiting the NC Maritime Museum in Southport. The City of Southport also offers sailors, anglers and boaters a safe haven through the Southport Marina, Old Yacht Basin and City Pier.

Source: Southport NC