Portsmouth, North Carolina

This place is on private property. Listing for informational purposes only. Please do not visit without express permission from the land owner. 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. 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 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.