Portsmouth, North Carolina
Encyclopedia
Portsmouth was a fishing and shipping village located on the north end of the Core Banks on the Outer Banks
in North Carolina
. The site lies on Portsmouth Island in Carteret County
, across Ocracoke Inlet
from the village of Ocracoke
. The town was established in 1753, and abandoned in 1971. Its remains are now part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore
.
, where cargo from ocean-going vessels could be transferred to shallow-draft vessels capable of traversing Pamlico
and Core 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
and deepened the existing Hatteras Inlet
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 bloodshed had ended and the Village of Portsmouth continued its decline, sped along by the occasional hurricane. The mammoth 1933 Atlantic hurricane season
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 and Maryland.) A further blow was the decommissioning of the US Life-Saving Station there in 1937, and when the post office closed in 1959, it was clear the end was drawing near--the final curtain coming down on the village in 1971 when Henry Pigott died, and the last two residents reluctantly abandoned the town.
Portsmouth Island (including the village) had already been acquired by the National Park Service before the last inhabitants left in 1971. It was then incorporated into the new Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Prior to and for long after the Civil War, much of Portsmouth's population was African American, including two of its last inhabitants, Henry and Lizzie Pigott. Henry Pigott's death in 1971 precipitated the move of the last white inhabitants away from the island (two elderly ladies named Marian Gray Babb and Nora Dixon). Pigott, a fisherman and clammer, was approximately their own age but had been essentially their caretaker, a situation not uncommon in the South. Both Henry and Lizzie Pigott were denied an education by the State of North Carolina. Under segregation
, 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.. African Americans (most of them slaves) were heavily engaged in fishing and other maritime trades on Portsmouth, piloting and manning vessels, even building a small man-made island, Shell Castle, out of oyster shells for use as a shipping depot. Though they made up about a third of its population before the Civil War, there is not a single monument to African Americans on Portsmouth.
and use the beach and tracks on North Core Banks.
, 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.
Outer Banks
The Outer Banks is a 200-mile long string of narrow barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina, beginning in the southeastern corner of Virginia Beach on the east coast of the United States....
in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. The site lies on Portsmouth Island in Carteret County
Carteret County, North Carolina
Carteret County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2010, the population was 66,469. Its county seat is Beaufort. Most of the county is part of the Crystal Coast....
, across Ocracoke Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet
Ocracoke Inlet is an estuary located in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, United States that separates Ocracoke Island and Portsmouth Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. It is the southern terminus of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is the northern terminus of the...
from the village of Ocracoke
Ocracoke
Ocracoke may refer to:* Ocracoke, North Carolina* Ocracoke Island Light, a lighthouse on Ocracoke island* Ocracoke Inlet, the inlet at the southern end of Ocracoke Island...
. The town was established in 1753, and abandoned in 1971. Its remains are now part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56-mile 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 barrier islands make up the seashore - North Core Banks, South...
.
History
Ocracoke Inlet was a popular shipping lane during colonial times. Established in 1753, the town of Portsmouth functioned as a lightering portLightering
Lightering is the process of transferring cargo between vessels of different sizes, usually between a barge and a bulker or oil tanker. Lightering is undertaken to reduce a vessel's draft in order to enter port facilities which cannot accept very large ocean-going vessels...
, where cargo from ocean-going vessels could be transferred to shallow-draft vessels capable of traversing Pamlico
Pamlico Sound
Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, is the largest lagoon along the U.S. East Coast, being long and 24 to 48 km wide. It is a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a row of low, sandy barrier islands, including Cape Hatteras. The Neuse and Pamlico rivers flow in...
and Core Sound
Core Sound
The Core Sound is a large and shallow body of water in eastern North Carolina located between the mainland of Carteret County and Core Banks, part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, located west of the Atlantic Ocean and north of Bogue Sound. Pamlico Sound is located to the north and east....
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
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 a 2.5 mile bridge that spans the inlet...
and deepened the existing Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet
Hatteras Inlet is a 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 bloodshed had ended and the Village of Portsmouth continued its decline, sped along by the occasional hurricane. The mammoth 1933 Atlantic hurricane season
1933 Atlantic hurricane season
The 1933 Atlantic hurricane season was the second most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, with 21 storms forming during that year in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The season ran through the summer and the first half of fall in 1933, and was surpassed in total number of tropical cyclones by...
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
Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore refers to many places, including:* Eastern Shore of Maryland* Eastern Shore of Virginia* Eastern Shore * Eastern Shore , of Mobile BayOther uses, a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919...
of Virginia and Maryland.) A further blow was the decommissioning of the US Life-Saving Station there in 1937, and when the post office closed in 1959, it was clear the end was drawing near--the final curtain coming down on the village in 1971 when Henry Pigott died, and the last two residents reluctantly abandoned the town.
Portsmouth Island (including the village) had already been acquired by the National Park Service before the last inhabitants left in 1971. It was then incorporated into the new Cape Lookout National Seashore.
Prior to and for long after the Civil War, much of Portsmouth's population was African American, including two of its last inhabitants, Henry and Lizzie Pigott. Henry Pigott's death in 1971 precipitated the move of the last white inhabitants away from the island (two elderly ladies named Marian Gray Babb and Nora Dixon). Pigott, a fisherman and clammer, was approximately their own age but had been essentially their caretaker, a situation not uncommon in the South. Both Henry and Lizzie Pigott were denied an education by the State of North Carolina. Under segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
, 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.. African Americans (most of them slaves) were heavily engaged in fishing and other maritime trades on Portsmouth, piloting and manning vessels, even building a small man-made island, Shell Castle, out of oyster shells for use as a shipping depot. Though they made up about a third of its population before the Civil War, there is not a single monument to African Americans on Portsmouth.
Portsmouth today
Now, about a dozen buildings, as well as a few out-buildings, 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, and the Post Office/general store are open to the public during the summer (soon the Henry Pigott house will be fully restored and open to the public). Now, especially during the summers, people often visit the island via ferry 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).Access
Porstmouth 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 AtlanticAtlantic, North Carolina
Atlantic is an unincorporated community in eastern Carteret County situated along the Core Sound, located in what was known to early settlers of the area as Hunting Quarters. It is the location of US 70's eastern terminus and the ferry terminal for journeys to North Core Banks in the Cape Lookout...
and use the beach and tracks on North Core Banks.
Homecoming
Porstmouth 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 CarolinaCedar Island, North Carolina
Cedar Island is an island and a small coastal unincorporated community in eastern North Carolina and some folks believe that the area has a connection to the Roanoke Lost Colony of the late 16th century. Cedar Island is located in Carteret County and was populated with local Native Americans prior...
, 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.
Portsmouth Island
Portsmouth Island lies to the west 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.)External links
- National Park Service site
- A 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 Ferry
- Google map of the island
- Portsmouth Island Vehicle and Passenger Ferry