Membership is 

 estimated at 300. 

 Several of 

 Portsmouth's 

 former residents 

 belong. Other 

 members, like 

 Lynn, are kin to 

 Portsmouth 

 families. The 

 remainder have 

 no connection 

 except a 



fondness for the place and a fascination 

 with the way life was. 



"A lot of people love the area, love the 

 history," he says. Lynn recalls many 

 childhood trips to Portsmouth. His 

 grandfather was part owner of a mailboat 

 that served Ocracoke and Portsmouth. His 

 great-grandmother, Helen Dixon, was bom 

 on Portsmouth. Her Dec. 23, 1889, 

 marriage to James Fulcher of Ocracoke is 

 recorded in the family Bible. "Eight boats 

 returned to Ocracoke, tied together in a 

 wedding chain," Lynn reads from the entry. 



Lynn spends his spare time searching 

 for cemeteries and individual gravestones 

 he suspects are still hidden in the thick 

 underbrush. 



"The history on those tombstones is 

 priceless," he says. 



Besides helping with preservation of 

 the physical Portsmouth, the group aims to 

 sustain the essence of the village by 

 recording the stories of former residents. It 

 hosts a meeting every spring and fall on 

 Ocracoke, and a homecoming on Ports- 

 mouth every other year. 



Though it has no permanent residents, 

 Portsmouth is occupied by at least one 

 person during the warmer seasons, also 

 intent on preservation. In exchange for a 

 firm commitment of three months of repair 

 and maintenance work, unpaid caretakers 

 get shelter in the lifesaving station's former 

 summer kitchen — and an incomparable 

 experience, at least for those who savor 

 solitude and seclusion. Such solitude, 

 tinged with a certain loneliness, is the 



Like these sea captains' gravestones, Portsmouth is a testimonial to generations past. 



The church bells chime, 



sounded by a tug on a rope, speaks of 



weekly respites to give thanks and 



gather strength. A creaky hinge 



on the post office door recounts when it 



was a portal to the entire outside world. 



shadow of Portsmouth's past personality, 

 an atmosphere that still cloaks the island. 



Richard Meissner, a retired English 

 teacher from Asheboro, spent a spring of 

 constant captivation at Portsmouth. He 

 recalls a day when he was to meet Frum at 

 the park service dock. 



"I went out to the pier to wait for him. 

 I took a book because I didn't know just 

 when he'd be there. I got fascinated with 

 some oyster catchers there by the dock. I 

 don't know how long I waited for him. 

 Thirty minutes? Two hours? I don't have a 

 clue," Meissner says. "I never read a word 

 of my book. That's how it is. There's 



always 

 something to 

 do. There are 

 birds. There 

 are sunsets. 

 There are stars 

 to look at." 



The 

 present-day 

 Portsmouth is 

 both sweet and 

 sad to people 

 like Jessie Lee 

 Babb Dominique, who remember when 

 friends and family made the silent 

 buildings a community. Though it brings 

 tears to her eyes, she comes to visit as often 

 as she can manage the trip. Much of the 

 journey, as in the past is by boat. 



At other times, at her house in 

 Beaufort, she is surrounded by reminders 

 of Portsmouth people held dear — her 

 great aunt's mail-order rocking chair, her 

 mother's sewing machine, a vase that 

 belonged to her friend Miss Hub — and 

 memories of Portsmouth. 



'There's never a day that I don't think 

 of home," she says. "It was home, and it is 

 home and it will always be home." □ 



Portsmouth Village is accessible only 

 by boat. Contact Cape lookout National 

 Seashore, headquartered in Harkers 

 Island, for information on park service 

 concessions that provide ferry services 

 from Ocracoke, or kayak and all-terrain 

 vehicle expeditions. Phone: 252/728-2250. 

 The transportation services charge a fee, 

 but there is no charge to visit Portsmouth. 



The Methodist church, a visitors' 

 center in the Dixon-Salter house and 

 the Life Saving Station are the only 

 buildings presently open to the public. 

 The only facilities in Portsmouth are 

 solar toilets. Visitors should dress for 

 the elements, wear sturdy walking 

 shoes, and bring drinking water and 

 other provisions. Sunscreen and insect 

 repellent are also recommended in 

 warm weather. 



12 EARLY SUMMER 1999 



