Books & Publications
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Add $3.00 postage per book if requesting shipment by mail.

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Southport Historical Society
P. O. Box 10014
Southport, NC 28461

Books for Sale

	Title / Author	Information	Cost
	Architecture of Southport By Carl Lounsbury 62 pages Soft cover	A survey with a brief history and photographs of 151 homes and other structures made in 1978 to document the architectural heritage of the town and to serve as a guide for future planning.	$ 7.00 retail $ 6.00 members
	Before We Were Quaint, The Southport Few remember...And Others Can't Imagine by Larry Maisel 305 pages Soft cover	The author states, “This book is a result of more than a dozen years of research, more than 80 interviews, and hundreds of hours of just talking to Southport natives about how it was in their lifetime, and what they were told by those who went before them.” Photographs are included in this interesting collection of stories.	$25.00 retail $22.50 members
	Cap’n Charlie and the Lights of the Lower Cape Fear By Ethel Herring 120 pages Soft cover	Here you will find two books in one. The first captures the adventuresome spirit and story of Captain Charles Swan and his many years with the US Lighthouse Service, especially at Bald Head Island. The second part features several lighthouses, lightships and the Cape Fear range lights that have been a part of our local history.	$10.00 retail $ 9.00 members
	The Cemeteries of Southport Compiled By Dorcas W. Schmidt 94 pages Soft cover	An inventory of gravesites and tombstones published in 1983 for the Old Smithville Burying Ground and other local cemeteries.	$ 8.00 retail $ 7.00 members
	Chronologies of Smithville/Southport By Bill Reaves Volume I (1520-1887) 129 pages Soft cover Volume II (1887-1920) 325 pages Soft cover Volume III (1920-1940) 294 pages Soft cover Volume IV (1941-1970) 275 pages Soft cover	This collection of four volumes of chronology brings together interesting and informative facts about the people, places and history of the town and surrounding community. Mr. Reaves used many resources and much research to produce this collective treasure for the historical society. It is our primary register of archives, heritage and “who’s who” from the 1500’s to 1970.	May be purchased separately as indicated or in a set for $30.00 Vols I & II $10.00 retail $7.50 members Vols III & IV $10.00 retail $5.00 members
	Classic Southport Cooking By Lewis J. Hardee, Jr. 409 pages Hardcover	With four printings since 2005 this popular book has become known as “Southport’s Signature Cookbook”. There are over 700 recipes with many coming from the town’s best cooks past and present. Entertaining “local color” stories are included along with photographs of cooks and “characters”. Every home should have this treasure in its kitchen.	$22.00 retail $18.50 members
	Fort Caswell in War and Peace By Ethel Herring and Carolee Williams 141 pages Soft cover	This history of the federal fort built in the 1830’s encompasses its early Civil War involvement, World Wars I and II and brings us to its present place of peace as a refuge of quiet reflection and relaxation. Today it is owned by the NC State Baptists who have been careful to preserve its ruins and rich history while opening it to visitors for retreats, camps and conferences.	$18.25 retail $15.25 members
	Guns for Cotton By Thomas Boaz 86 pages Soft cover	Discover the facts of how some $200 million worth of foreign arms and equipment reached the South during the Civil War in exchange for the desperately needed commodity of cotton. There are many surprising revelations in this book.	$10.00 retail $ 9.00 members
	A History of Fort Johnston By Wilson Angley 150 pages Soft cover	A comprehensive history of a North Carolina colonial fort completed by the British in 1749 until it’s transformation to a private residence for the commandant of Sunny Point’s US Army weapons depot. Today the fort’s Garrison House is the historic centerpiece of the city of Southport.	$ 6.00 retail $ 5.00 members
	Joshua’s Dream – The Story of Old Southport – A Town with Two Names by Susan S. Carson* 168 pages Soft cover	The town’s local historian for many decades gives us the most comprehensive published history of Smithville/Southport in this book. The title invites the reader to discover how a young man’s dream in the late 1700’s came to life in this special place blessed with “salubrious breezes” and industrious citizens. *(This book may be purchased as part of the Carson trilogy as follows)	$10.00 retail $ 9.00 members (*$25 included in Carson trilogy)
	Joshua’s Legacy – Dream Makers of Old Southport edited by Susan S. Carson* and Jon C. Lewis 285 pages Soft cover	This is a compilation of stories written by local citizens about the lives of those who shared Joshua’s dream for Smithville and built the town we now know as Southport over a span of two centuries. *(This book may be purchased as part of the Carson trilogy as follows)	$10.00 retail $ 9.00 members (*$25 included in Carson trilogy)
	Journey to Cape Fear by Michael Price 315 pages Soft cover	Author states “This book brings together a store of historical facts, genealogical information, and personal adventures and portraits of my ancestors whose descendants settled in the lower Cape Fear region of North Carolina...”	$25.00 retail $22.50 members
	Lelia Jane, A Very Gentle Lady – A Half Century of Life in Old Southport by Susie Carson* and Larry Maisel 98 pages Soft cover	This charming book was begun as a family memoir project and developed into a short history of the town’s lifestyle between 1922 and 1972. Ms. Carson’s recollections weave the story of her mother’s life through the tough times and good times along with her family, neighbors and fellow townspeople. *(This book may be purchased as part of the Carson trilogy as follows)	$ 9.00 retail $ 8.00 members (*$25 included in Carson trilogy)
	Long Beach, A North Carolina Town: Its Origin and History By Wolfgang Furstenau 365 pages Hardcover	Now merged into the town of Oak Island, Long Beach was its own entity when this history was published in 1995. From its official opening in July 1939 to the arrival of hurricane Hugo in 1989, fifty years of the development of this beach town are covered including maps, photographs, and short biographies of some of the players in the town’s history.	$18.25 retail $15.25 members
	Masters of the Shoals: Tales of the Cape Fear Pilots Who Ran the Union Blockade By Jim McNeil 187 pages Soft cover	High adventure and derring-do have become stuff of legend as brought to life in the stories of brave pilots on war time duty. You are sure to enjoy the recounting of these blockade-runners’ tales with photographs and maps.	$14.00 retail $12.00 members
	Of Home and the River: Southport Stories from the Civil War to the Present By Lewis J. Hardee, Jr. 357 pages Hardcover	A native son relates stories of the “children of the river” laced with humor, heartaches, tears and a little scandal here and there. This is a companion book to Mr. Hardee’s Classic Southport Cooking that continues the fascinating tales of local folks without the recipes this time.	$24.00 retail $20.00 members
	Reminiscences of Wilmington and Smithville-Southport 1848-1900 by Dr. Walter G. Curtis (1905) and edited by Wolfgang Furstenau (1999) 85 pages Hardcover	candid and personal reflection on local and national happenings during turbulent times. Dr. Curtis served as the Cape Fear’s US Quarantine Medical Officer at Southport for thirty years. This small book gives an inside look at one man’s thinking on topical ideas and issues over some fifty years before the turn of the 20th century.	$ 9.00 retail $ 7.00 members
	Southport Secrets Compiled By Donald K. Johnson 94 pages Soft cover	Little known and well known facts of the town’s history are written in this book describing local scenes stitched on a bicentennial quilt. The stories and the quilt were the handiwork of several members of the Southport Historical Society as the 200th anniversary (1792-1992) of the town was celebrated. The quilt is on display at the Southport Visitors Center.	$ 8.00 retail $ 7.00 members

NOTE: Southport Historical Society sells its own publications as well as books published by local authors with connections to the society. Other non-fiction books deemed relevant to Southport and regional history are considered for sale by the society on assessment by our book selection committee.

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