The Southport Historical Society will hold its annual meeting on Monday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Southport Town Hall. This meeting is open to all and attendees will be treated to an enlightening discourse by William Messmer on “Hunting for the History of the Cozy Harbor Store.”  

Bill, a retired college professor who has been associated with Southport Island since the 1980s, will take us on a trip down memory lane as he traces the history of the store that ultimately became the iconic “Gus Pratt’s.”

Bill’s presentation will include photos and historical records that date back generations, a bit of the property’s most recent history, and will allow time for questions and comments as people recall their own associations with Cozy Harbor through the ages.

Bill and Cathy Messmer moved to Southport in 2008 and as a professor of political history, Bill’s penchant for academic research recently lead him on a quest for historical information about the site that was once home to E.W. Pratt, General Merchandise and was now under reconstruction as Oliver’s at Cozy Harbor.

Not wanting the history of Gus Pratt’s store to be lost, Bill, also a trustee for the Historical Society, began his mission by gathering stories from long-standing island residents whose families go way back. He then dug even deeper into deeds, court records and old photos to get a comprehensive picture of the past.  

It turns out that the site was originally established as a commercial concern as early as the 1700s and underwent several iterations and passed through several owners for over a century before being purchased by the Pratt family.

Bill sees the new Oliver’s as a continuation of the site’s history as many elements from Pratt’s store have been preserved and repurposed in the new updated restaurant. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into a special reminiscence of Southport history.

The Friends of the Southport Historical Society would also like you to know that we will kick off the 2013 summer season at the Hendricks Hill Museum with an Open House on Saturday, June 29 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The public is invited to this opening day event. Light refreshments will be provided and all are welcome to come by and experience even more of the history of Southport through our collection of artifacts, photos and archival materials that depict early settlement of the island.

Hendricks Hill Museum, the primary mainstay of the Historical Society, opened in 1988 with the donation of the Cameron House in which it is still housed. The Cameron family first built their home in about 1810 and much of what is on display reflects back to what family life was like on Southport during that era.

We invite you to visit the museum on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout July and August and we also invite and encourage you to join our ranks as a volunteer docent to help guide others through the museum.

Your commitment can be as little as two hours for the season and you will be given a personal tour and a volunteer’s handbook to get you started. No one knows the answers to all the questions that come up but there will be a resident expert on hand to help out.

Our volunteers are an important key to the operation of the museum and as always, our volunteers will be honored with a luncheon that will take place on July 31.

To volunteer, please call Nan Jackson at 207-633-2003 or Dick Snyder at 207-633-3614.