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

Core Banks The Core Banks are barrier islands in North Carolina, part of the 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 Core Banks a ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. Portsmouth Island is a tidal island connected, under most conditions, to the northern end of the 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 Carteret County ( or )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carol ...

, 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, United States, running from Ocracoke Inlet on the northeast to Beaufort Inlet on the southwest. Three undeve ...

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 Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans of North Carolina. They spoke an Algonquian languages, Algonquian language also known as ''Pamlico'' or Carolina Algonquia ...

and

Core Sound The Core Sound is a sound 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 Back Sound ...

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 Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of the fe ...

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, North Car ...

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 is the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record in terms of accumulated cyclone energy (ACE), with a total of 259. It also set a record for Tropical cyclone naming, nameable tropical storms in a single ...

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. (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 is the easternmost region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It consists of two counties (Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack and Northampton County, Virginia, Northam ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

.) 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 List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

, 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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 the 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 human ...

, 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 Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Carteret County, North Carolina. It is located in the Down East (North Carolina), Down East region of coastal North Carolina. In 2022, the population w ...

, 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 oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

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 Köp ...

system, Portsmouth, North Carolina has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

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 a wind that blows in the afternoon from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass. By contrast, a land breeze or offshore breeze is a wind that blows in the night from a landmass toward or onto a large ...

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 shade (shadow), 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 (s ...

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 1 through November 30, when Tropical cyclone, tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention ...

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 (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...

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 widely ...

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) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low ...

activity is in February.

Ecology

According to the

A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 26 July 1907 – 17 June 1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system that has become widely used in the United Sta ...

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 generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

/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 A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

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