Southport, North Carolina
| Southport, North Carolina | |
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| City | |
A view of Southport from the fishing pier
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| Motto: The Home of Salubrious Breezes | |
 Southport
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| Coordinates: 33°55′28″N 78°1′14″W / 33.92444°N 78.02056°WCoordinates: 33°55′28″N 78°1′14″W / 33.92444°N 78.02056°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| County | Brunswick |
| Established | 1792 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jerry Dove |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.8 sq mi (9.8 km2) |
| • Land | 3.7 sq mi (9.7 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 20 ft (6 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,833 |
| • Density | 755/sq mi (291.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern Time Zone (North America) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 28461 |
| Area code(s) | 910 |
| FIPS code | 37-63400 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1022722 |
| Website | www |
Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. It is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. Its population was 2,833 as of the 2010 census.
Southport has been a popular filming location for television and movies, including film adaptations of the works of novelist Nicholas Sparks. The town can be seen in the television series Dawson's Creek, Under the Dome, Revenge, and Matlock, and in numerous movies, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Summer Catch, Domestic Disturbance, Crimes of the Heart, Nights in Rodanthe, A Walk to Remember and Safe Haven.
Southport is the location of the North Carolina Fourth of July Festival, which attracts 40,000 to 50,000 visitors annually.
The Southport area was explored as early as 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, France declared war against 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. 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.
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Wikipedia