Portsmouth Island, North Carolina, is a presently uninhabited barrier island running southwest to northeast along the North Carolina shore. The island stands between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound and is neighbored by Ocracoke Island to the northeast and Core Banks to the southwest. Ocracoke Inlet, a span of water which lies between Portsmouth Island and Ocracoke Island, was a popular shipping lane during colonial times. The town of Portsmouth was established as a lightering port to help reduce the draft of heavier vessels attempting to traverse the shallow waters of the sound. Situated on the inlet at the northeast end of the island, Portsmouth was founded in 1753 and grew to a peak population of 685 in 1860.
In 1846, a strong hurricane cut Oregon Inlet and deepened the existing Hatteras Inlet to the northeast, making Ocracoke Inlet a less desirable shipping lane by comparison. Once the shipping traffic declined and eventually ceased entirely, the island's population continued to dwindle until its last permanent residents left in 1971. The island is now part of Cape Lookout National Seashore.
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Portsmouth Island Attractions and Activities
Cape Lookout National Seashore preserves a 56 mile (90 km) 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 Core Banks and Shackleford Banks. The seashore includes two historic villages on Core Banks, Shackleford's wild horses, and the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, which has a black-and-white diamond pattern. A visitors center for the seashore is located on Harkers Island.
The National Park Service, as part of their Centennial Initiative celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2016, is planning to rehabilitate the Lighthouse and restore the Cape Lookout and Portsmouth Village Historic Districts.
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