- _The State Port Pilot__
NEIGHBORS
By candlelight
Luminaries will light the way
for Saturday’s tour of homes
Historic houses festooned in
holiday finery will be featured in
the Southport Candlelight Tour
of Homes on Saturday, Decem
ber 12.
Sponsored by Southport 2000,
Inc., in conjunction with the
celebration of the city’s
Bicentennial, the tour will wind
its way along the waterfront
highlighted by more than 1,000
luminaries.
The tour will be from 5 to 9
p.m. Tickets are $8 a person and
202 WEST BAY STREET
410 BRUNSWICK STREET
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5 RIVER WATCH LANE
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DRIFTWOOD SHELL SHOP
SOUTHPORT MARITIME MUSEUM
can be purchased from area mer
chants and at the Southport 2000,
Inc., office.
There will be nine stops on the
tour, including the Southport
Maritime Museum at 116 N.
Howe Street where com
plimentary wassail will be served
throughout the evening.
The following homes will be
featured on the tour:
•5 River Watch Lane. This
new custom-built home is
situated beneath a canopy of live
oaks and offers a view of the
Cape Fear River. Traditional de
sign has been blended with con
temporary convenience to create
an example of gracious Southern
living.
•413 East Bay Street (circa
1852-1860). Formerly the Fort
Johnston hospital, this two-story
home was moved to its present
site in 1889. It later became the
residence of Annie Mae Wood
side, the first woman superinten
dent of schools in North Caro
lina. It is currently home to Dr.
and Mrs. Sidney Fortney.
•301 East Bay Street (circa
1859). Originally the home of
Thomas D. Meares, this dwelling
was later converted into a resort
hotel. Among the lively clientele
were merchants and summer
visitors including "Tony the
Ghost", who still makes an oc
casional visit. Distinctive fea
tures include a deep brick base
ment, an "H" shaped floor plan
and "secret tunnels" which still
remain under the structure. The
former Brunswick Inn is current
ly the residence of Barry and
Stuart Callari.
•239 East Bay Street (circa
1800-1820). The imposing two
and-a-half story Walker-Pyke
House with its clipped gable roof
and three dormer windows is
believed to be the oldest house in
Southport. Prior to the turn of the
century the first floor was
remodeled. The home was
restored in the 1980s by its cur
rent owners, Dr. and Mrs. Sam
Sue.
•114 West Bay Street. The No.
1 beacon on the mantel of the
Dosher House once marked the
entrance to the Intracoastal
Waterway and attests to the salty
heritage of this home. Tommy
Dosher, whose grandmother
owned the house, has renovated
the structure with the help of his
father and brother. A ship’s bunk
from a decommissioned liberty
ship, a captain’s wheel and
propeller are all part of the nauti
cal menagerie in this rustic
Southport home.
•202 West Bay Street. This
two-story structure at the comer
of Lord and West Bay streets
was built in the mid-1930s for
Rob Davis, a lawyer. The over
sized foyer was originally used
as a library . The hip roof and
porch eaves display porch rafters
in the bungalow style. The ex
pansive porch is supported by
clusters of posts articulated by
block-like capitals.
•410 Brunswick Street (circa
1889). This Southport cottage al
lows an unobstructed view of
one of Southport’s most photog
raphed scenes, the yacht basin.
Formerly a Methodist parsonage,
the house was moved to its pres
ent location in 1889, at which
time a kitchen wing was added.
The home is currently the
residence of Eleanor Smith.
Also on the tour is the
Driftwood Shell Shop and Watts
Charter Boats, located at the end
of Bay Street at the yacht basin.
Four generations of the Watts
family have maintained this
property which has served as a
launching site for offshore Fish
ing charters developed by Hulan
Watts in 1933. A former fish
house on the property was
renovated and now serves as the
shell shop, owned and operated
by Watts’ daughter, Dot
Schmidt, and granddaughter,
Kyra Ann Toler.
The Southport Maritime Muse
um, also on the tour, opened its
doors this year and features a
collection of memorabilia cover
ing the vast nautical history of
the lower Cape Fear .area.
301 EAST BAY STREET
an
114 WEST BAY STREET
413 EAST BAY STREET
239 EAST BAY STREET