Chronicle of a seaport village 



Portsmouth Village is quiet now. 

 But its history tells the story of a once- 

 bustling community. Of a town that 

 was established as a transshipment 

 point, flourished for a while, then 

 finally failed. Of a town whose resi- 

 dents managed to keep their village 

 alive for another century. Of a town 

 which, even today, folks still refuse to 

 call deserted. 



Portsmouth Island is the northern- 

 most strip of land in Core Banks. The 

 village lies on the tip of that island just 

 across the inlet from Ocracoke. 



Today, Portsmouth Village is part 

 of the National Register of Historic 

 Places. The Register recognizes out- 

 standing historic buildings and dis- 

 tricts. The 250-acre Portsmouth 



historic district has been part of the 

 National Park Service's Cape Lookout 

 National Seashore since 1976 when the 

 state turned deeds to the property over 

 to the federal government. 



Like so many coastal towns, 

 Portsmouth's existence depended on 

 an inlet. In the days when Ocracoke 

 Inlet was kind to seafarers, Ports- 

 mouth prospered. Old records indicate 

 that the North Carolina colonial 

 legislature authorized the village in 

 1753 as a point where ships' cargoes 

 could be lightered ashore for shipment 

 to the mainland. 



Portsmouth owed much of its com- 

 mercial success to a tiny neighboring 

 island composed entirely of oyster 

 shells. Shell Castle Island, to the west 



OCRACOKE 



PORTSMOUTH 

 ISLAND 



CORE 

 BANKS 



SHACKLEFORD BANKS 



of Portsmouth in Ocracoke Inlet, 

 served as a lightering station. Ships 

 arriving at Ocracoke Inlet had their 

 cargoes lightered to the island's 

 warehouses where the goods were 

 stored until they could be sent inland. 



By 1759, Portsmouth Village was 

 experiencing the perils of modern 

 growth. A tavern owner, Valentine 

 Wade, was charged with permitting 

 dancing, drinking and card playing in 

 his tavern on Sundays. 



For many years, the tiny town went 

 unnoticed. The Revolutionary War 

 barely touched Portsmouth. The 

 census of 1790 lists 96 free white males, 

 92 free white females and 38 slaves. 

 The leading citizen, David Wallace Jr., 

 owned 16 slaves and had two houses in 

 the village. By 1810, with a population 

 of 246, Portsmouth was the second 

 largest town on the Outer Banks. 



By 1860, Portsmouth Village and 

 nearby Shell Castle Island boasted a 

 population of nearly 600 residents. The 

 village included about 100 houses, a 

 church, several taverns, warehouses, 



A map pinpointing the location of Portsmouth and Shackleford Banks 



Village post office 



