Reviews of North Carolina Maritime Museum at Southport (Museum)

Jordan Pfluger

This was a great little hidden gem for history buffs and a very well maintained small museum, the curators were extremely friendly and did not make is feel unwelcome for just wandering around and taking pictures.

Judy Carnefix

Interesting way to spend some time

Emily Brock

Great place to take the kids. Ask for a kids scavenger hunt page. Very friendly staff.

Yvonne Price

Small museum filled with local maritime history. Great for the whole family.

Bob Moore

Nice local museum. Some excellent exhibits. Defintely worth a visit.

Dawn McDonald

Best small museum I have ever been to! We have three kids and all of them loved it as well.

michelle Gilbert

Was good very informative, lots of reading, did have a periscope, was cool , but video was kinda boring, nice gift shop.

Bedrock VA

Worth the stop if you're in the area. Artifacts from 10million BC to present day. The periscope gave a unique view of Old Baldy. The pics are from museum and surrounding Southport area.

John Vandegrift

Excellent experience. Small enough to see under two hours, informative exhibits, helpful staff and a treasure hunt to keep the kids happy and involved.

Terrence Ross

Love this place

Emily Janes

My Uncle volunteers here. Great place.

Renae Szad

Great little museum full of facts and a free destination.

Steve Cherry

Stop by and have coffee across the street at Moore Street Market, then stroll though the displays and historical items at the Museum. Look through a WWII periscope at the Southport waterfront, including City Pier and Bald Head Island, about 6 miles away. Be sure to not miss the turtle exhibit and all things pirate! Great for kids of all ages - with a self-guided scavenger hunt they'll really enjoy! A great way to spend a hour or two - staff is very friendly and helpful.

Laura Ortmann

Wonderful maritime museum, great for a couple of hour visit, free admission. Recommended.

Skid Lidz

Great for the whole family.

Annie Almand

Small in size, but rich in history. Great place to duck out of the sun for a bit and learn about our coast at the same time.

Russell Mayo

Great place to swing by for a lot of local information. they have done a lot to this place over the years. Most definitely worth swinging by and checking out.

Leah Glover

Absolutely adorable. There are lots of little exhibits dedicated to the history of NC and our coast, they even had little scavenger hunts. The best part, it's absolutely free! The staff were very kind, and you can donate to the museum if you'd like :)

Adam Moore

This is a great museum to learn more about the maritime history of the area. Will definitely visit again!

Erin Baker

Such a fun museum with really well-curated exhibits. Interesting facts about Southport and the surrounding areas, and my kids love doing the sagvenger hunts and looking out the periscope (also one of my favorite parts). The staff is super kind and knowledgeable. We visit every time we're in Southport!

Nicole Hulse

Small but informative and interesting!

Amber malone

This place is awesome!

Dave Patterson

Great place to learn about our local nautical. history.

Gil Jinorio

Awesome. North Carolina does an excellent job not only with thier aquariums but their zoo is also great.

Enyo Phase

Great little museum.

kim Rosario

Very informative, people where so helpful, will do this again

Heath Labox

While small in size thus place packs alot of information and family fun learning about history

Troy Lipp

Great small-town museum. Well worth a visit.

Bill Bryan

Very interesting, informative exhibits. Children's room and children's exhibits were very appreciated. Looking forward to going again.

walter atkins

Great place to visit. Has interesting interactive exhibits for all ages. Tells great history tales and lore. You can really image being there. Has the boat give away seems like every year there. Great place to take pictures by the flag poles. A must to do while in South Port.

Nancy Lepri

A fun place to visit and learn more about the history of this wonderful town.

Brett Thompson

Newly added exhibits, great information on the history of Southport, The Cape Fear River and surrounding basins

Nancy Hahn

Wonderful experience. So well done. Maritime History of the area. Periscope to view the rivet.

Allen Waldrep

Fascinating stories and helpful guides inside. This is the designated rainy day activity .

Lil Brave

Great history and movie plots

Mark Dixon

Free to get in; they do take donations. Very good historical displays, including an actual periscope from a U.S. submarine. Worth the stop.

Peter Grendze

Excellent museum learn something new on every visit.

Amanda Crews

Very well organized. Lots of information.

Neetal Timble

Pretty neat place and best of all its free. Informative and well laid out. Very friendly and helpful staff. Had scavenger hunt for kids which was a nice touch. It’s nice area around to walk about as well with fishing pier and benches to talk.

Rich Grogan

Fascinating history

Cynthia Dutoit

My grand daughter's liked it especially the scavenger hunt

Robin Johnson

Really interesting.

Sydney Napier

So fun for kids (who loved the scavenger hunt!) and adults! Amazing, super informed staff! We had a great time and will come again!

Forest Schweitzer

Just the view out to the ICW is fantastic as is, but for such a small place a lot of effort and care has gone into making a very high quality experience.

Brittney Fairfax

Great sights to see!

Damion Dalton

Full of interesting local history from the begining of our country.

Robert Moses

Great museum. Lots of interesting information. Scavenger hunt for kids. Very helpful staff and volunteers. Easy to spend an hour or so to let the weather blow over.

Mandi Sumners

I was impressed with the exhibits. Very informational and fun.

Kat Garden

Very interesting place. I'd recommend.

Mary Atkinson

Loved it. Lived in Southport when I was a child and now I am 70. Love that little town. Full of history.

Chauncey Williams

Was very interesting

Emily Pakes

Best museum experience ever! The staff was extremely helpful and went above and beyond to answer any questions we had.

Steve Seuzeneau

Very informative and exhibits are done well.

Carrie Sullivan

Free museum packed full of information.

Mark Lamendola

Honestly could have spent way more time fascinating. ....worth seeing coolest perescope through roof !

Gene Muse

Very nice. Be sure to check out the periscope!

Christine McKenzie

Very informational and awesome!

Lynette Thompson

Really neat place!!!

Lily Tompa

So good informative. Nice people work there

Jackson Skey

This Museum is a perfect "Rainy Day" visit. The location and building are easy to find and nice to navigate inside. The volunteers were helpful and knowledgeable about the history around the area relating to maritime as well as other topics. We thoroughly enjoyed the Black Beard and Queen Annes Revenge portion of the tour but as soon as that portion is over, the visit can get a little drawn out and be a little bland. But that shouldn't hinder the fact that there is plenty of maritime history and neat facts and exhibits to look at. Took us about an hour to go through the whole thing. Will recommend to others when in the area or need ideas for a bad weather day when near Morehead.

Richard Lane

Fun rainy day activity for the kids

James Brooks

Best time spent Southport. Well done museum

Diana Hicks

Friendly staff and educational facts in museum

Dawn Bell

Very informative.

David Godfrey

A great collection of maritime history and stories of shipping and commerce

TheBeardedOne

Great little free museum and very kid friendly

Paul Bronson

Great seeing the history!

Marvin Johnson

Gear exhibits

Melissa Huchel

The lady was very knowledgeable of Southport.

Robbie Baker

It was a fun time for my family. My kids loved the scavenger hunt and it was a small museum, but it was packed with interesting exhibits. I would recommend it for a fun way to to get a lot of information in a short amount of time. There is plenty of parking and the staff is very friendly. It's a great rainy day activity.

Bill

As an old retired NC history teacher, I found this museum fascinating! Exhibits were varied, well displayed and of interest to young children as well as adults. Admission was free, gift shop was reasonably priced. Allow 30-45 minutes for a quick visit, then kick back and watch the ships enter the Cape Fear!

Hugh Bredbenner

Nice local museum.

Thanos Kermit

I love coming here! To have the most fun, bring kids between the ages of 5 and 16. They have two scavenger hunts: one for kids 6-10 years old, and one for kids between the ages of 11 and 16. Once you finish the hunt, kids can pick a treasure to take home! The manager is also very helpful and kind!

Melinda Hamilton

I loved the museum and the staff there was so nice and helpful.

Helena L.

I go every time I am in town! It is really interesting and neat to see all the items on display.

Geoff Gallagher

A real gem. So accessible; tour quickly for a sense of history or spend lots of time and get a deeper knowledge of our coast.

Mark Mancil

Decent amount of exhibits. 30 min to see all

Tony Witherspoon

Love it

Michael Hagler

An excellent free museum.

Chad Bowser

A great regional museum

stephen vantre

Alot of good information . Free admission.

William Bass

Great place for family to learn about maritime in the area

Steven Riddei

Fascinating historical artifacts and stories.

Anna Kulcsar

Great little gem and it's free!

James Kessler

Lots of history and staff is amazing and always willing to help!

Michael Kiser

Interesting

Sherry Thomas

We took my daughter my son and my grandaughters. First time I have ever been there an we live here. It was wonderful. We really enjoyed it.

Darrell Wire

Great little museum

Todd Whittaker

An interesting (and free) AIR CONDITIONED museum that shows the regional history of the Cape Fear river basin. Really nice for getting away from the heat in Southport for an hour or so. There is a lot to read for adults and a few interactive displays for kids (knot tying, smells of the lumber industry, etc). Take the time to find the media room and sit down for a short movie loop that walks through the local history.

David J

Excellent displays and information about history in area.

Beverly Robinson

Self directed tour, staff very helpful and knowledgeable.

Heather Distefano

Awesome

Susan Holladay

Very nice to visit.

Fusion Sports 252

Very nice place not very big but informative. It is worth a visit to explore the coastal regions of North Carolina. You should also take the opportunity to visit the local lighthouses.

Robert Garner

Interesting history. Nice mementos.

Kenneth Gamm

Wonderful

Bonnie Robinson

This free museum is smaller than I expected, but provides plenty of information. Looking through the periscope was very cool. There are plenty of interactive elements throughout that make it a more engaging visit.

Mary Swedenborg

Very nice. Worth the time to visit.

Ashley McBride

We had a great time looking at all the exhibits in the museum and they had a fun little scavenger hunt for the kids. It was really fascinating and definitely will be going back

Leslie Kerns

The people were really informative and helpful. It had interesting findings, artifacts and displays.

Cindy WoodBury

Fabulous place to visit and learn some cool things! Southport is a beautiful city

kim gass

Awesome place to visit will give back nicely priced gifted shop

AnGie NeLsoN

Knowledgeable and friendly (volunteers?) On staff.... well kept.. historic... great encased displays of area's recent and deep past. Super clean restrooms .. lots of free literature and friendly smiles

Brittany Schell

Very fun and educational. There are a lot of hands on learning opportunities and interesting exhibits for visitors of all ages.

mary dillon

Nice little museum. Free. You can give a donation.

Kiss Sloane

We had a wonderful time

Rebecca Schupp

This museum is pretty small, very easy to navigate and loaded with history. You must stop in and visit when you come to visit southport.

David Boling

It was good and informative and well worth the price (free)

Chris Shumate

This place is full of great information about Southport, Oak Island, and New Brunswick areas as it relates to the maritime life of the area. We come each year of our family vacation to check out what's been added. Our son enjoys the scavenger hunts the museum offers. Definitely worth taking the family. It's free, but donations are welcome and appreciated.

Reflections Antiques

Nice n quiet

Robert Pope

Very good and price for admission is extremely reasonable.

Gabe Barker

Very nice museum. Great place to cool off and learn about the local all history.

Greg DeCicco

Small but informative

Ray Waldinger

Small museum giving brief history of local area dating back 20,000 years.

Beverly Delahunty

Lots of things to see, very nice.

scott hair

Good place to take youngsters to learn about Maritime history

Cornelis J van Dijk

It is an average museum, however, one of the displays is missing major information: in the 1600's the major maritime power in the world were the fleets of Holland. This was totally absent, a major error.

Steven Brewer

Nautical, local history and an excellent collection of artifacts from the area. Fun stop and close to the river.

Rick M

Very interesting place. Wonderfull location and lots of very applicable historical info. Many food and retail options are steps away. And, parking is easy. Great little town.

Ricky Murphy

Green and interesting

Andrew Southey

A very interesting place

matthew pedone

This is a very nice museum to learn and see local artifacts. They had a traveling exhibit of Black Beard when I went with my family. The employees are amazing and knowledgeable. They made the experience extremely fun to my 5 year old.

Gary Arrington

This is a small museum in Southport. I went in, honestly, to get out of the heat, but enjoyed my time there. No fee, public restrooms available.

Steamyb 2

Great local museum.

Pat Handy

Great place to visit about the history of Southport!

Tim Ledford

Loved it. Full of history. I recommend it.

Judi Stevens

Not very big, but packed full of treasures. Well worth stopping by.

Jill Awuni

Good for friends and families

Jamie DeShong

Friendly and informative staff. Planning a return trip

Peggy Lane

History

Bobby Benson

A great place to take a Navy wife. Go Seabee's !!!!

Ricky Thomas

Very interesting items. Worth a look if you are in the Southport NC area.

frank leonard

when we took a tour yesterday the museum is under construction and does not look as good inside as the picture on their web site.

MJ Perdue

Great museum. Very interactive. Beautiful view.

R ZP

Very cool museum for the beautiful town of Southport. Covers a lot of the history of the Cape Fear area with facts and artefacts spanning 3000 or so years of the area.

James Kosek

Smaller museum but full of interesting facts and items from the southport area. Well worth the visit.

Leo Orenstein

Limited but interesting exhibits.

Elizabeth Lutz

Full of information and historical artifacts. A hands on museum where you are allowed to touch things

Thomas Dosier Jr

An amazing lesson in local nautical history

J Nicholson

Beautiful museum, wonderful staff, great interpretive displays & the real, working periscope is AWESOME!

Angie Abbott

Great and informative place to visit.

Andy Jarrell

Great place to visit,

Eric Taylor

Great place to bring children

Bernadette

Very cute and nice displays. Also loved the gift shop.

S Theys

Great place to visit with kids. They have a short scavenger hunt with a little prize available at the end. There is no admission cost. The museum features information about the local area and has a small gift shop

Michael Stephens

So much to do and see in a small town! A must must must stop!

Sara Evans

Must visit!