Portsmouth was a fishing and shipping village located on Portsmouth Island on the

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, United States. Portsmouth Island is a tidal island connected, under most conditions, to the northern end of the North

Core Banks The Core Banks are barrier islands in North Carolina, part of the Outer Banks and Cape Lookout National Seashore. Named after the Coree tribe, they extend from Ocracoke Inlet to Cape Lookout, and consist of two low-relief narrow islands, North ...

, across

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

from the village of Ocracoke. The town lies in Carteret County, was established in 1753 by the North Carolina Colonial Assembly, and abandoned in 1971. Its remains are now part of the

Cape Lookout National Seashore Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56-mile (90-km) long section of the Southern Outer Banks, or Crystal Coast, of North Carolina, USA, running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southeast. Three undeveloped barrie ...

History

Portsmouth - Post Office and Genaral Store - 01

Ocracoke Inlet was a popular shipping lane during colonial times. Established in 1753, the town of Portsmouth functioned as a lightering port, where cargo from ocean-going vessels could be transferred to shallow-draft vessels capable of traversing

Pamlico The Pamlico (also ''Pampticough'', ''Pomouik'', ''Pomeiok'') were American Indians of North Carolina. They spoke an Algonquian language also known as ''Pamlico'' or ''Carolina Algonquian''. Geography The Pamlico Indians lived on the Pa ...

and

Core Sound The Core Sound is a sound (geography) in eastern North Carolina located between the mainland of Carteret County and Core Banks, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It lies between the large Pamlico Sound to the northeast and the smaller B ...

s. Portsmouth grew to a peak population of 685 in 1860. Though small, Portsmouth was one of the most important points-of-entry along the Atlantic coast in post-Revolutionary America. In 1846, two strong hurricanes cut

Oregon Inlet Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by the 2.8 mile Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of the ...

and deepened the existing

Hatteras Inlet Hatteras Inlet is an estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County. History ...

to the northeast, making Ocracoke Inlet a less desirable shipping lane by comparison. The waters around Portsmouth's harbor also began to shoal up, hastening its decline as a port. The Civil War was yet another blow as many people fled to the mainland when Union soldiers came to occupy the Outer Banks. Many didn't return after the war had ended and the Village of Portsmouth continued its decline, sped along by the occasional hurricane. The mammoth

1933 Atlantic hurricane season The 1933 Atlantic hurricane season set the record for the most named or nameable storms formed within a single season, 20, which stood until the 2005 season, during which there were 28 storms. It also produced the highest Accumulated Cycl ...

also served as a benchmark in the island's population decline, though more as a focal point of memory and a symbol of decline than the real cause of it.A Home Transformed
/ref> (These were the same hurricanes that led to the depopulation of the barrier islands on the

Eastern Shore of Virginia The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties ( Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast detached from the mainland of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is se ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

.) A further blow was the decommissioning of the US Life-Saving Station there in 1937, and closing of the post office in 1959. In 1967 Portsmouth Island and village had already been acquired by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, then incorporated into the new

. The last two elderly residents, Marian Gray Babb and Nora Dixon, left the island in 1971 after the death of Henry Pigott, who although approximately the same age was essentially their caretaker. In 1978 Portsmouth Village was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Life in Portsmouth

The inhabitants of Portsmouth Village were heavily engaged in fishing and other maritime trades, like piloting and manning vessels, even building a small man-made island, Shell Castle, out of oyster shells for use as a shipping depot. Later many worked as fisherman and clammers. Much of Portsmouth's population was African American descending from the slaves brought to the island. After the Civil War most African Americans left Portsmouth but some families remained including Pigott family whose descendants were some of the island's last inhabitants: Henry and Lizzie Pigott. Under

segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

, black and white children could not legally attend the one-room schoolhouse on Portsmouth Island together. The state never built a separate school for Blacks, so African Americans who remained on the island in its declining years never received the benefits of a formal education. Inhabitants of the island lived without electricity, running water or refrigeration.

Portsmouth today

Now, 21 total buildings stand, including about a dozen dwellings and a few out-buildings. These are maintained as part of the Portsmouth Village Historic District. Of these the Salter House/visitor center, the one-room school, the Methodist Church, the Life-Saving Station, Henry Pigott's house and the Post Office/general store are open to the public during the summer. Now, especially during the summers, people often visit the island and camp out overnight on the beach (camping is not allowed in the village). Facilities are very limited with a compost toilet near the Life-Saving Station and a restroom in the Salter house/visitors center, with no potable water, food, or electricity available. Portsmouth - Theodore & Anne Salter House - 01.JPG, Theodore & Anne Salter House / Visitor Center (built circa 1905) Portsmouth - Lionel & Emma Gilgo House - 01.JPG, Lionel & Emma Gilgo House (built circa 1926) Portsmouth - George & Patsy Dixon House - 01.JPG, George & Patsy Dixon House (built circa 1875) Portsmouth - Ed, Nora, & Elma Dixon House - 01.JPG, Ed, Nora, & Elma Dixon House (built circa 1910) Portsmouth - Ed & Kate Styron House - 01.JPG, Ed & Kate Styron House (built 1933) Portsmouth - Walker & Sarah Styron House - 01.JPG, Walker & Sarah Styron House (built circa 1850) Portsmouth - Washington Roberts House - 02.JPG, Washington Roberts House (built circa 1840)

Homecoming

Portsmouth is the location of an increasingly well-known "homecoming," currently celebrated every two years. The island homecoming has its origins in the early trips made back to the island by families who left prior to the 1960s and was originally affiliated with the Methodist and Primitive Baptist churches, primarily out of

Cedar Island, North Carolina Cedar Island is an island and a small coastal unincorporated community in eastern North Carolina, United States. It is located in Carteret County. It was populated with local Native Americans prior to the arrival of European settlers. It is als ...

, where many inhabitants of Portsmouth had resettled. The homecoming began as a church- and family-based event but has become increasingly a secular celebration of Portsmouth's heritage, under the aegis of the National Park Service. Many people who have no direct family connection to the island participate in the homecoming.

Access

Portsmouth is reached by a passenger ferry from Ocracoke village. It is also accessible by four wheel drive vehicles, which cross Core Sound by ferry from

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and use the beach and tracks on North

Portsmouth Island

Portsmouth Island lies to the east of North Core Banks, to which it is connected at most states of the tide. The limits of the island are not precisely determined and have varied over time. Older maps use the term for the island between Ocracoke Inlet and Whalebone Inlet (which closed in 1961, now the northern end of North Core Banks.Barrier Island Ecology of Cape Lookout National Seashore, NPS Scientific Monograph No.9, Chapter 3
/ref>)

Climate

According to the

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

system, Portsmouth, North Carolina has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

with hot and humid summers, cool winters and year-around precipitation (''Cfak''). Cfak climates are characterized by all months having an average mean temperature > 32.0 °F (> 0.0 °C), at least eight months with an average mean temperature ≥ 50.0 °F (≥ 10.0 °C), at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ 71.6 °F (≥ 22.0 °C) and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. During the summer months in Portsmouth, a cooling afternoon

sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry land. As such, sea breezes ar ...

is present on most days, but episodes of extreme heat and humidity can occur with

heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is als ...

values ≥ 100 °F (≥ 38 °C). Portsmouth is prone to hurricane strikes, particularly during the

Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year from June through November when tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean, referred to in North American countries as hurricanes, tropical storms, or tropical depressions. In addition ...

which extends from June 1 through November 30, sharply peaking from late August through September. During the winter months, episodes of cold and wind can occur with

wind chill Wind chill or windchill (popularly wind chill factor) is the lowering of body temperature due to the passing-flow of lower-temperature air. Wind chill numbers are always lower than the air temperature for values where the formula is valid. When ...

values < 15 °F (< -9 °C). The

plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

in Portsmouth is 8b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of 17.5 °F (-8.1 °C). The average seasonal (Dec-Mar) snowfall total is < 2 inches (< 5 cm), and the average annual peak in

nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...

activity is in February.

Ecology

According to the

A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...

U.S.

potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...

types, Portsmouth, North Carolina would have a dominant vegetation type of

Live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...

/Sea Oats

Uniola paniculata ''Uniola paniculata'', also known as sea oats, seaside oats, araña, and arroz de costa, is a tall subtropical grass that is an important component of coastal sand dune and beach plant communities in the southeastern United States, eastern Mexi ...

(''90'') with a dominant vegetation form of

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

(''20'').

References

External links

*
National Park Service siteA Home Transformed: Narratives of Home, Loss, Longing and the Miniature from Portsmouth Island, North Carolina
(M.A. thesis in Folklore, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 2009). Online resource.
Portsmouth Island FerryGoogle map of the islandPortsmouth Island Vehicle and Passenger Ferry
{{Authority control Outer Banks Beaches of North Carolina Ghost towns in North Carolina Geography of Carteret County, North Carolina Buildings and structures in Carteret County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Carteret County, North Carolina Landforms of Carteret County, North Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina