Cape Fear

Brunswick Town, first established in 1726 and made a borough town under English law in 1754, was established as the first county seat for Brunswick County when it was enacted in 1764. Brunswick Town was ransacked by the British during the American Revolution and literally burned to the ground - never to be rebuilt.

In January of 1779, the North Carolina General Assembly passed an Act authorizing Court to be temporarily held at the plantation of John Bell near the mouth of the Lockwood Folly River while a permanent Court House was to be constructed at the bridge further upriver.

In 1784, Walkersburgh, named in honor of John Walker on whose land it was situated, was established at the Lockwood Folly Bridge, located near present-day Supply. This site soon included the Court House, a jail, several homes, and a small tavern.

But, the location was not convenient for the majority of the county's population and the town never really took off. Within twenty-five years, in 1808, the county seat was again moved to a more convenient location (at that point in time), Smithville, which was at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Smithville was later renamed to Southport.