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That Were Portsmouth Church Steeple (Left); Portsrnouth Frorn Above (Right)

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That Were Portsmouth Church Steeple (Left); Portsrnouth Frorn Above (Right) t'\ UNC Sea Grant February, 1984 C(H$ Photo bv Geile Furr N.C- Trcvel and Tourism photo Towns that were Portsmouth church steeple (left); Portsrnouth frorn above (right) Towns with names like Exeter, Old Town Point, and a trading center. But a nearby town, first called Brunswick Town, Charles Town and Buffalo City Newton, then Wilmington, grew to overshadow once dotted the maps of coastal North Carolina. Brunswick Town. Towns whose only link to the present is a crumbling Hurricanes, politics and a lack of commerce caused wall, an abandoned house, an excavation. a recollec- the demise of several coastal towns and villages. tion. State and county histories tel1 us about their fate. The Roanoke Island colony may be North But two Carteret County communities, deserted Carolina's most famous abandoned settlement. But during the twentieth century, are still fresh in the other towns have fiourished and then died. Bruns- minds of a few former inhabitants. This month. wick Town, established on the shores of the Cape Fear Coastwatcft takes a look at Portsmouth Village and River in 1728, was envisioned as a seat of government Diamond City. Chronicle of a seaport village Portsmouth Village is quiet now. historic district has been part of the of Portsmouth in Ocracoke In1et. But its history tells the story of a once- National Park Service's Cape Lookout served as a lightering station. Ships bustling community. Of a town that National Seashore since 1976 when the arriving at Ocracoke Inlet had their was established as a transshipment state turned deeds to the property over cargoes lightered to the island's point, fiourished for a while, then to the federal government. warehouses where the goods were finally failed. Of a town whose resi- Like so many coastal towns, stored until they could be sent inland. dents managed to keep their village Portsmouth's existence depended on By 1759, Portsmouth Village was alive for another century. Of a town an inlet. In the days when Ocracoke experiencing the perils of modern Valentine which, even today. folks still refuse to Inlet was kind to seafarers' Ports- growth. A tavern o\\'ner. ri'ith permitting call deserted. mouth prospered. Old records indicate Wade, was charged playing Portsmouth Island is the northern- that the North Carolina colonial dancing, drinking and card in most strip of land in Core Banks. The legislature authorized the village in his tavern on SundaS's. years. went village lies on the tip of that island just 1753 as a point where ships' cargoes For many the tinY town War across the inlet from Ocracoke. could be lightered ashore for shipment unnoticed. The Rer-olutionary The Today, Portsmouth Village is Part to the mainland. barely touched Portsmouth. of the National Register of Historic Portsmouth owed much of its com- census of 1790 lists 96 free white males, Places. The Register recognizes out- mercial success to a tiny neighboring 92 |ree white females and 38 siaves. standing historic buildings and dis- island composed entirely of oyster The leading citizen. David Wallace Jr., tricts. The 250-acre Portsmouth shells. Shell Castle Island, to the west owned 16 slaves and had tr.vo houses in the vi1lage. By 1810. u'ith a population of 246. Portsmouth q'as the second largest town on the Outer Banks. ocRAcoKE\. By 1860, Portsmouth Village and nearby Shel1 Castle Island boasted a population of nearl5r 600 residents. The village included about 100 houses, a church. severai ta\-erns. warehouses, PORTSMOUTH ISLAND -coREBANKS SHACKLEFORD BANKS rnap pinpointin! the location of Portsrnouth and Shacklefotd Banks Village post office shipbuilding yards and a post office. the mainland. A lifesaving station the Park Service reminds that it's not But then came the Civil War. This provided jobs for some residents from easy to get there. You can reach the war. Portsmouth didn't fare as well. 1897 until 1938 when it was closed. In island by way of two concessioners During the Iirst year, Confederate 1943. the doors to the one-room who operate ferries from Ocracoke and troops were stationed at Portsmouth. schoolhouse closed for good. The post from Cedar Island. Or. you can take But as the Yankees pressed further office, opened in 18,10. finally closed in your own boat to the island. South. the rebel soldiers withdrew and 1959 rvhen permanent residents num- Patton adds that the management most of the inhabitants f ollowed. bered less than 15. plan for the island doesn't call for mak- Legend has it that only one Ports- With the death of Henry Pigott. the ing it any easier to get there. He says mouth resident stuck it out-by island's last male resident, in 1971, the the Park Service is protecting the necessity. Supposedly. she was so fat last two women left for the mainland island by having limited access. that she couldn't fit through her door. (see page 4). If you do plan a trip to Portsmouth, According to the legend, the Yankee Portsmouth stands now-the tou/n be prepared. says Portsmouth district soldiers were kind to her. with no people. But. the village hasn't ranger Dick Williams. Flardy mos- Some say it was the Civil War that been ignored. Since 1978, the National quitoes, 99 percent humidity and no doomed Portsmouth. Others blame a Park Service has '"vorked to stabilize water-just a few of the things you'I1 major hurricane in 1933. Or. maybe the condition of the buildings. Some of be up against. Williams advises there just weren't any jobs. Whatever the houses recei'u,ed a f resh coat of visitors to take insect spray, wear long the reason, only a fraction of the paint and new cedar shake roofs. pants and a long-sleeve shirt. and take villagers returned after the war and Bob Patton, the interpretive along a supply of water. the population steadily declined. By specialist with tire National Park Ser- Patton adds that for all the discom- 1870 the population was 323. Just ten vice, says that while Portsmouth forts, it's well worth the trip. "It looks years later. that number had dropped Village dates back to 1753, there is and feels just as it once did. And the by another hundred. very little evidence of the early years. challenge of getting to Portsmouth Those residents who remained con- The oldest house still standing is the makes the visitor more appreciative of tinued to depend on the sea for their Washington Roberts hc.ruse, built what it must have been like vears livelihood. But storms destroyed around 1850. ago." says Patton. houses and more residents moved to While thc village is open to visitors. Davis -Nancy Natiottal Park Serr:ce ploto Class of 1916 Children with familiar Ports- mouth narrtes like Salter, Babb, Gil{o and Dixon pose f or their class portrait. After the turn of the century, the number o{ school- a{ed children on the island s/ead- ily declined. A new school was built in the 1920s. but its doors closed for the last tirne in 1943. Portsmouth: a town without people National Park Service Photo Portsmouth Village may have seen its better days, but it's far from dead. Ask its residents-well, former residents. They've left their village, but they haven't deserted it, they say. Consider Marion Babb. She was one of the last children born on Portsmouth Island. That was in L922 .r .s *p' when there was still some life left in the already ';*r..S declining village. But, even then, Portsmouth was breathing its last breaths. ln L971, Babb and her aunt moved to the mainland, the last permanent residents to leave the seaport village. But their home stands today, freshly painted, yard mowed, ready for their return. Babb points to a color photo of the old homeplace and says, "That's home. And it'll never be anything but home." Although the National Park Service controls the land and buildings on Portsmouth Island, Babb main- tains a lease on her house. For her and others like her, it's more than sentiment that draws her back. "I wish I could go back and stay forever-the quiet, no telephones," she says. Babb remembers the good life. It was a time when all the young folks on the island would have candy parties or ice cream parties. Or, they'd play a little canasta, dominoes or chinese checkers. She remembers having all the necessities plus a lit- tle more. A wooden tank held 1,600 gallons of water, a generator provided light and, in later years, they had a gas stove. Most of the homes had outdoor toilets as well as outdoor cooking houses, called summer kitchens, for cooking in hot weather. And, even Henry Pigott at about 14 Photo b: Steve Morra;. **,*lr,6;{&E;r|:t-...a 8;&,a;ti&&;.*W,*,;Z tr Former Portsrnoutlr residenfs clairn the fertile island rnars.hes produce the best oysfers in the world "Portsntouth is rnore of a state of mind. It's the love the poeple have for the village that rcaIIy fteeps it go- in{." -Margaret Willis though she's living on the mainland now with the lux- With the death of Henry Pigott, Babb and her aunt ury of electricity, Babb still refuses to give up her were alone on the island. When they decided to pack kerosene lamps. up and leave in 1971, Portsmouth was a village Once a month, a minister came from Ocracoke to without a population. preach in the little church next to Babb's house.
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