Southport, NC African American Heritage Tour

This empty lot at 109 E. Nash St. was the original location of the Southport Police department.  Back in 1974, when George McCracken was promoted to Southport’s Chief of Police it made the papers all the way to Texas. McCracken was the ... Read more

St James AME Zion is Southport’s oldest African American church. It was founded in 1866, the year after the Civil War ended.  Its original name was the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Colored. It is the only African American church lis... Read more

Willie McKenzie was not only one of the first African American men to own a business in Southport, he was also one of the most popular. Several generations of children and adults have fond memories of Mr. Willie and his homemade ice cream. ... Read more

Miss Dollie’s Store/Dance Hall/Wood Yard 501 N. Howe St. Mrs. Dollie Evans, a widowed mother of one daughter, had the reputation of being the “hardest working woman in town”. She owned and operated a grocery store that also served as ... Read more

In 1926, Bud McCoy retired from the Navy. During his twenty years in the military he had served aboard 24 ships, made three trips around the world and participated in a world war. He was ready to settle down. He opened a Funeral Home to ser... Read more

  Dexter Clemmon’s started Hi-Way Cleaners during WWII in a small wooden building not too far from Miss Dollie’s. The two businesses formed a hub around which much of the community gathered. Dexter’s business was seldom called by its... Read more

 The Pythagoras Lodge #6, Prince Hall Free and Accepted Masons was organized in 1871. For many years the lodge was housed in a two-story white frame building. The present brick building was built on the same site as the previous structure.... Read more

The Mt. Carmel AME Church building has housed two congregations in its lifetime. It was originally built in 1814 to house the Trinity Methodist Congregation of Smithville, as Southport was then known. In 1890, the building was sold to the T... Read more

First Baptist’s name reflects that it was the first Baptist church to be established in Southport for worshippers of African American descent. The present sanctuary was built in 1950, but the congregation dates back more than 120 years. B... Read more

Friendship Missionary Baptist Church is the youngest African American Church in Southport. The congregation was formed in 1921. Until they had their own church, the congregants met at the Royal Knight's Hall. In 1928, they built their prese... Read more

This park is named after Professor Alvin C. Caviness, who was principal of Brunswick County Training School from 1932 until his retirement in 1970.  Due to his strong role-modeling and intense dedication to his students, he was one of the ... Read more

Brunswick County Community College stands on the site of what was once Brunswick County Training School. Until 1950, BCT was the only African American school in Brunswick County that went above the eighth grade. Any student in the county w... Read more

The International Longshoreman's Association of Southport received its charter in 1956, a year after the opening of Sunny Point Military Operations Terminal, one of the largest military terminals in the world. For the first sixteen years, m... Read more

Brown's Chapel AME Zion is one of the oldest African American congregation in Southport. Early members of Brown's Chapel AME Zion began holding prayer meetings in their homes in the late 1800's. By 1898 they had moved into a wooden chapel n... Read more

During the week, the Flat Top Inn was a workshop where Eugene Gore repaired radios and televisions. On the weekends it transformed into a nightclub where the community could gather and socialize. Just like his multi-purpose business, Eugene... Read more

Jabbertown Road is the main street of an African American community that developed after the Civil War. It was located about a mile from the main gate of Smithville, as Southport was known at the time. The residents came up with the name fo... Read more

The John N. Smith Cemetery was officially established in 1880 when members of the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church(currently known as the St James AME Church) purchased the land for $15. The land, which had been owned by three former slav... Read more