Southport, FL

Southport is an unincorporated Bay County community on the north side of North Bay, west of Deer Point Lake. State Road 77 is its main north-south route, running toward Chipley and Interstate 10 to the north and Panama City to the south. Edwards Road, County Road 388, State Road 20, and County Road 2321 fill out the local road map. Southport Elementary and Deane Bozeman Middle School are part of Bay County's public school system, and the community sits in the Panama City–Lynn Haven–Panama City Beach metro area.

The school history gives Southport a clear local beginning. A school existed here by the early 1880s, when the community was known as Anderson. A lumber mill brought about 30 families to the area in 1906, and the school building doubled as a gathering place. The community adopted the name Southport in 1907. Today the same geography still does the talking: bay and lake water on either side, a school-centered road network, and a short connection to Panama City. Post-Hurricane Michael rebuilding and new housing have added pressure and change to that older rural outline.