Old Smithville Burying Ground

Resting Place of Heroes... Shaded by beautiful oak trees, the historic  Old Smithville Burying Ground in Southport  chronicles the passage of time along North  Carolina's lower Cape Fear River. In its fading stones and graves - both marked  and unmarked - can be read the history not  only of a city and a region, but of our nation  as well. Not long after the English began building Fort  Johnston at present-day Southport in 1745, a  small community began to develop around  the military garrison near the mouth of the  Cape Fear River. Ships coming into the river  needed pilots and the protection of the fort  offered an ideal place for harbor pilots to  settle. They were joined there by traders and  others. As is the case with all communities, the little  village at Fort Johnston needed a place to  bury its dead and it was not long before the  first graves were prepared at what is now the  Old Smithville Burying Ground. By the time  the community was designated the town of  Smithville in 1792, the little cemetery had  already been in existence for a number of  years. Monuments in the cemetery honor some of  the most notable individuals in American  history, among them Governor Benjamin  Smith, for whom Smithville was named. Born  in surrounding Brunswick County in 1756,  Smith served valiantly in the American  Revolution. As a colonel, he fought under the  command of General George Washington  and by the time the war came to an end, his  name was inscribed with honor in the history  of his country. Returning home to North Carolina, Smith  served in the state senate for 25 years before  his election as governor in 1810. He died in  Brunswick County, not far from where he was  born, in 1816 have lived long enough to see  the fledgling United States once again defeat  Great Britain in a military conflict, the War of  1812. There is some dispute over the exact location  of Smith's final resting place, but local  residents believe he lies at the Old Smithville  Burying Ground. It is a logical location as the  governor was closely associated with the  community. A stone marker has been  erected to his memory and can be seen at  the old cemetery.