Walkersburg, North Carolina





A History of Walkersburgh, North Carolina

Brunswick Town, first established in 1726 and made a borough town under English law in 1754, was established as the first county seat for Brunswick County when it was enacted in 1764. Brunswick Town was ransacked by the British during the American Revolution and literally burned to the ground - never to be rebuilt.

In 1779, the Brunswick County seat was authorized to be moved to the plantation of John Bell near the Lockwood Folly bridge. In 1784, Walkersburgh, named in honor of John Walker on whose land it was situated, was established. Provisions were made in the act for a courthouse and other public buildings to be established in Walkersburgh, located near Deep Water Point.

[Author's note - there is no known current location in Brunswick County named Deep Water Point.]

In 1779, the Brunswick County Seat was located at Lockwood's Folly and a new town was established at the mouth of the Lockwood Folly River on the south/west bank. In 1784, the county seat was moved across to the other side of the Lockwood Folly River and a new town was established, named Walkersburgh, which included the courthouse, a jail, and several homes as well as a tavern.

But, the location was not convenient for anyone except for those on the coast, and the town never really took off. Within twenty-five years, the county seat was moved to a more convenient location (at that point in time), Smithville, which was at the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Smithville was later renamed to Southport.