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History · Southport

Southport’s post office opened in 1907

Most of Southport was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1943 on.

1907first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Southport began

When was Southport founded?

1907

The Southport post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

119 years
Founding year: the first Southport post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Southport’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Southport are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Southport’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Southport’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Southport, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Southport yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Southport is an unincorporated community in Bay County, Florida, United States. It is located along the north side of North Bay and west of Deer Point Lake. The main roads through the community are State Road 77, Edwards Rd, County Road 388, State Road 20, and County Road 2321. It is also part of the Panama City–Lynn Haven–Panama City Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area has seen exponential development post Hurricane Michael due to population influx.

Its first post office opened in 1907.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Southport, 1907 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907Post officeThe Southport post office opens
  3. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1960Post officeThe Southport post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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On the map

Southport on the map, 1943 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Southport. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Southport on the 1943 USGS mapSouthport on the 1982 USGS map1943Southport sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Southport.

Famous people

Famous people close to Southport

Nobody well known was born in Southport itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Artis GilmoreAmerican basketball player · b. 1948
C
Carolyn MurphyAmerican model · b. 1973
Janay DeLoachAmerican track and field athlete · b. 1985
Tom ShieldsAmerican swimmer · b. 1991
Kenny SaiefAmerican-born Druze-Israeli footballer · b. 1993
Charles O. AndrewsAmerican politician · b. 1877
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Southport had its own post office from 1907 to 1960.

Southport
1907–1960
19001960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Southport’s history

What year was Southport founded?

The Southport post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.