{"nrhp_refnum":"74001327","name":"Fort Johnston","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"Moore St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Southport","county":"Brunswick County","state":"NC","lat":33.91804572800004,"lon":-78.01749614499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-06-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Fort Johnston is a military site on Moore Street in Southport (formerly Smithville), Brunswick County, North Carolina, on the west bank of the Cape Fear River. The fort was established by the British about 1750, and the site now holds military housing, tennis courts and a brick commander's house dating from around 1800.","why_significant":"The site is described as the first North Carolina fort authorized by the Legislature and the last residence of Royal Governor Josiah Martin. It served as a garrisoned post through the Revolutionary era, the early United States period and the Civil War, when it helped keep Wilmington open to blockade runners. It was finally abandoned in February 1881.","narrative":"Fort Johnston occupies a site on Moore Street in Southport, North Carolina, overlooking the Cape Fear River. The British established the fort about 1750, and it is described as the first North Carolina fort authorized by the Legislature. Royal Governor Josiah Martin lived there last before Patriots led by Cornelius Harnett and Robert Howe destroyed the early fort in July 1775. The land was ceded to the United States in 1794, and a garrison of artillery troops was in place by 1800. The post was abandoned and reoccupied several times, was taken over by North Carolina militia in 1861, and helped keep Wilmington open to blockade runners during the Civil War. Union forces occupied it in 1865, and it was finally abandoned in 1881. Today the site holds military housing and tennis courts, along with a brick commander's house from about 1800 that was substantially renovated in the 1950s.","period_of_significance":"18th and 19th centuries (specific dates not given)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied by military housing, tennis courts and the commander's quarters; the original house was renovated in the mid-1950s and is described as altered, in good condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.581069-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/17/7191/47719117/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/74001327.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001327/0270bfc931-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74001327/0270bfc931-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"User:Dincher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_J.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Dincher</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_J.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"80002801","name":"Southport Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/north-carolina/southport-historic-district-80002801/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719117","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Johnston_(North_Carolina)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5471415"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/brunswick-county/fort-johnston-74001327/"}