N.C. Maritime Museum at Southport

Your first stop - the colorful landstat satellite photo of the Lower Cape Fear area. Then move on to Storyboard No. 1 to view a 2,000 year-old 54" Indian canoe fragment. Read Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet's touching pleas for clemency, before he was hanged. Test your knowledge for pertinent trivia, from our own jeopardy board. Great fun for "children" of all ages. See artifacts from the important colonial port of Brunswick. Touch the chevrons of an old pine tree "boxed" for naval stores. Our Civil War Blockade exhibits include a 200 lb. pile torpedo retrieved from the historic waters of the Cape Fear River. Enjoy the extensive collection of delicate ship models, including those built by the late Col. Herbert Franck. The "River Pilots, Rescues and Aids to Navigation" section offers a variety of nautical instruments, including a 48" Coast Guard nun buoy. Bounce and rock on the 5' model of a turn-of-the-century "Joggle Board". The shipwreck "City of Houston" display will bring back memories of great-grandmother's home of 1878. See our rescued treasures from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, near the Frying Pan Shoals. Newly retrieed additions are a continuing delight. Commercial and sport fishermen posing with their "catch of the day" display angrand variety of fresh seafood from the waters of the Lower Cape Fear. A local net expert has made a 9' model of a shrimp-boat net for our museum, complete with "doors." If he's in the museum while you are visiting, he'll be glad to show you how to knit a net. North Carolina shells are here, as well as white and black coral. Shark teeth, a loggerhead turtle skull and an overhead 8' whale jaw bone await your discovery, all a beautiful addition to our Lower Cape Fear maritime story. The research librar/classroom provides an abundance of material for study and program presentations. Learn about hurricanes and listen to the weather forecast on marine radio; when storms are present in the Atlantic, we will be tracking them on a hurricane chart. The 12 Storyboards will guide you through our maritime history, from the earliest settlers to modern sailors. Visit our gift shop for a variety of small toys, souvenirs, and post cards, and rest on an antique bench used in the old Brunswick County Courthouse. The expansive Research Library can provide hours of study and entertainment. Videos of pelicans, pirates and shipwrecks are on view, anaother pleasant way to learn about the "Lower Cape Fear". And please sign our visitor's log as we wish you a bon voyage.