Chief George McCracken Southport Police Department
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 first black police chief in Southport, and one of the first in the state of North Carolina. Southport’s mayor, Eugene Tomlinson, had to travel to the state Capitol to explain the decision to put McCracken in charge. McCracken replaced Chief Strong who left to become Brunswick County Sheriff. McCracken, 33, had already served as Assistant Chief for two years and was recommended for the position by Chief Strong. The city council voted unanimously to give McCracken the position. Despite all the concern outside of Southport, McCracken’s appointment was not controversial to the people of Southport. He was regarded as a hard-working, seasoned police officer who treated everyone the same regardless of their race. At the time of his promotion, McCracken said that he did not expect his race to be an issue and that he felt 90% of the white people were behind him. McCracken served four successful years as Police Chief of Southport before leaving to pursue work in the private sector.
St. James AME Zion 407 E. West St.
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 listed in the 1867 North Carolina Business Directory. The first minister was Rev. Abram Smith. The congregation had no church building until 1871 when five members of the congregation came together to purchase land for $100. They then obtained the foundation and frame of the old Federal quarantine hospital at Deep Water Point. They rolled that structure on logs to its present location.The original building was replaced in 1915. The church was then struck by lightning in 1943 and was heavily damaged by Hurricane Hazel in 1954. The front of the church, the choir loft, and other features were never replaced. An annex was added in 1957 and the mortgage was burned in 1969.
Mr Willie’s Ice Cream Parlor and Pool Hall
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. In addition to ice cream, he sold sherbet, shaved ice, sodas and candy, as well as medicine like castor oil. His wife, Anna Lee McKenzie, partnered with her husband in the store. She made small sweet potato pies and a type of peanut candy called “brown dogs” which were very popular. The store was known for having a massive granite and marble soda fountain with a saloon type mahogany canopy, a glass mirror and storage cabinets. It’s said that Anna bought this soda fountain for her husband as a gift. She earned the money by doing washing and ironing for 25 cents a week and saving the money. Next door to the Ice Cream Parlor was a Pool Hall. The two buildings, which Mr. Willie had built in 1910, were connected by a hallway. Mr Willie and his wife Anna closed their doors in 1968 after 58 successful years in business.
Miss Dollie’s Store/Dance Hall/Wood Yard 501 N. Howe St.
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 a gathering place for the older people in the community. She grew her own vegetables which she would load into her horse-drawn wagon and take to the big houses along the riverfront to sell to the cooks and domestic help. In back of the store she maintained a wood yard where she sawed slabs of wood into uniform boards that she sold as firewood. She gave the leftover bark away to those who earned a living doing laundry or who needed it for their cookstoves. She built a porch above her store that was used for eating, dances and community parties. Miss Dollie’s daughter, Anna, followed her mother’s example of hard work. She grew up to become a Brunswick county school teacher.
McCoy-Green Funeral Home
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 serve the African American community in Southport. He bought lumber, denim, silk and satin and began to make coffins. His pine boxes were known to be simple, tasteful and inexpensive works of art. He didn’t own a horse so he borrowed one whenever there was a funeral, in order to pull the funeral carriage. He eventually bought a used hearse, but since neither he nor any members of his family knew how to drive, he had to hire a driver whenever there was a funeral. He charged $25 for a funeral, without embalming. He and the Greens who joined him later, were known for their compassion in working out payment plans. They always provided a dignified service regardless of their clients’ ability to pay.
Dexter Clemmon’s Hi-Way Cleaners
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 given name. Instead everyone referred to it as The Pressing Club. Dexter’s son Lorenzo joined his father in business in the 1950’s. In 1956 they replaced the wooden building with a brick one. Dexter was very popular in Southport. He was especially popular with children. They called him The Cookie Man because he always carried cookies with him to share with them when he delivered laundry and drycleaning to neighborhood homes. They were always happy to see The Cookie Man arrive. Dexter worked at The Pressing Club for over 50 years until his death in 1992 at the age of 85. Lorenzo and his wife kept the cleaners open for two more years. By then Lorenzo was 65 years old and he was ready to retire and do a little fishing.
Pythagoras Lodge #6
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. It was dedicated in 1980. The strong influence of the Masons within Southport’s African American community is evidenced by the number of tombstones in the John N Smith cemetery that display the Mason symbol of a protractor and compass surrounding the letter G. In August, 1963, the first meeting of the Southport NAACP was held here.
Mt. Carmel AME Church
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 Tabernacle African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Reverend Whitfield Griffin and his congregation then moved the building from Nash St to its present location by rolling it on logs. The ceiling is the original and the floor is thought to be of the same vintage. The congregation later changed their name to the Mt Carmel AME Church.It should be noted that the building was badly damaged by Hurricane Florence in October 1918. The congregation is still working to rebuild their building and resume services in this location.
First Baptist Church 619 N. Lord St.
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. Before they had a Church building, they held meetings in Franklin Square Park. Their first Church building was built by Malissa Wortham Jackson. Mrs. Jackson was a former slave who went on to become a respected Southport businesswoman, midwife and landowner of over 900 acres. When she discovered there was no African American Baptist Church in Southport, Mrs. Jackson built her own chapel on a portion of her property. Eventually, Mrs. Jackson and some of the other members left First Baptist and formed a new church which they called Friendship Missionary. The original Church was torn down and the boards were used to build a new Church for First Baptist on Owens Street. First Baptist remained on Owens St. for over 40 years before moving across the street to their current location in 1950.
Friendship Missionary Baptist Church 620 Clarendon Ave.
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 present sanctuary, and have been here ever since. Rev. B.P. Stevenson became their pastor in 1927. He led the congregation through the construction of their new church and remained their pastor for another 40 years. The church bell was donated by Mrs. Malissa Jackson.
Alvin C. Caviness Park Corner of Clarendon and Owens St.
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 most well-loved and respected educators at BCT. He was known as a strong but fair disciplinarian. He encouraged his students to reach for achievement. In the words of one former student, “He cared for us like we were his children”. Caviness was known for his philosophy that adverse situations can bring out the best in people. When BCT lacked a safe place for students to play sports, he encouraged the students, teachers and parents to work together to build a gymnasium. It became a source of pride for Southport’s African American community to see what they could accomplish together. Caviness Park is dedicated to Professor Caviness and continues to be a joyful place where the children and families of Southport can come together.
Brunswick County Training School 701 N. Lord St.
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 who wanted to go to high school attended here. Often students from outside Southport would stay with local African American families during the week in order to obtain their education. The school cost over $11,000 to build in 1924. Southport's African American community raised half the money. The rest was paid for by a combination of public funds, donations by the white community and a grant from the Rosenwald Foundation. The first graduating class was in 1929. It consisted of one pupil, Bertha Bryant. Over the next forty-plus years, numerous students followed in Bertha’s footsteps. The final class graduated in 1972. Many BCT graduates went on to attend college and had distinguished careers in education, business, government, and the military.
International Longshoreman’s Association 211 W. 10th St.
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, members held their meetings in the Masonic Lodge on Lord Street. They built their current building in 1972. Southport's longshoremen played an important role in the war effort during Desert Shield, Desert Storm and especially the Viet Nam war. The men worked round the clock, including holidays and weekends in order to load munitions to be shipped overseas. Mr. Henry Rose was a member of the ILA for 51 years and became the fourth president of the Southport organization in 1980. During his term there were over 230 members. Longshoremen continue to play an important role in the economy of Southport, working the docks at Sunny Point and the State Port in Wilmington.
Brown’s Chapel AME Zion 745 Jabbertown Rd
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 near the corner of Jabbertown Rd and Hwy 87. They bought the land from Mrs. Malissa Wortham Jackson for $40. In the early 1900's, the WB&S railroad came to Southport. Its tracks were laid between the front door of Brown’s Chapel and Highway 87. This caused a lot of noise and commotion at the front of the church. Whenever a train went by, the service came to a stop because no one could hear. The congregation solved this problem by picking up and turning their Church building so that the entrance faced Jabbertown Road. The WB&S disappeared a long time ago, but the Chapel has remained facing Jabbertown Road ever since.
Eugene Gore’s Flat Top Inn 635 Jabbertown Rd.
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 Gore was a man who wore many hats in his lifetime. Besides owning the repair shop, he also provided affordable rental housing in Southport. As a young man he worked as a kitchen boy and eventually worked his way up to becoming one of the first African American captains of a menhaden fishing boat. He later captained a deep-sea commercial fishing vessel and the Southport- Ft. Fisher ferry. He was the president of the Southport NAACP for over twenty years. He was a member of the Dosher Memorial Hospital Board, the Southport Planning Board and Commissioner of the Battleship USS North Carolina. Born into a period of segregation, discrimination and oppressed voting rights, Eugene was a lifelong proponent of civil rights. In his lifetime he was fortunate to hear Dr. Martin Luther King speak, to meet Jimmy Carter at the White House, and to see the election of the first African American President of the United States.
Jabbertown Road
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 for their community. The men all worked in two industries - fishing and at the sawmill. They would all get off work at sundown and walk home together. The women would gather at the first house on the road and visit while waiting for the men. Once they arrived, they would divide up the fish that the fishermen had brought home. The men said that as they walked, they could hear the women and children jabbering long before they could see them. So they started calling the community Jabbertown. Eugene Gore credits his grandfather, John W. Joyner, as being the first one to coin the nickname. He said whenever his grandfather would come to visit he would complain about the women visiting along the sides of the road and just jabbering away. Either way, the name stuck, and its been called Jabbertown ever since.
John N Smith Cemetery
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 slaves, had been being used as an unofficial burying ground for several years. The oldest tombstone in the cemetery belongs to John N. Smith who was buried in 1874. The cemetery is named in his honor. The cemetery was the only African American cemetery in Southport for over seventy years. Former slaves, freemen, business owners, farmers, mariners, politicians and military veterans are buried here.There are 479 grave markers. Ground Penetrating Radar has shown that there are an additional 1243 unmarked graves in the cemetery. It’s likely that many of the unmarked graves originally had wooden or ballast stone markers that have disappeared with time. Traditionally many of the graves were adorned with conch and oyster shells, as is consistent with the African American Gullah Geechee culture. This cemetery is the final resting place of veterans of every American war since the Civil War. In fact, two Civil War veterans are buried here. Every year, the city of Southport holds its Memorial Day Celebration in this cemetery.
