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Located five miles from Ocracoke Island, and only accessible by boat, Portsmouth Island was originally established in 1753. From its early origins in the mid-1700s until the beginning of the Civil War one hundred years later, Portsmouth grew into, and thrived, as a bustling shipping center. During the Civil War period, many of Portsmouth's residents fled the island and moved to the mainland. Shipping routes also began to change and soon Portsmouth was no longer a thriving island of commerce, but rather a quiet fishing hamlet. By 1956, Portsmouth only had 17 residents, and in 1971, the only two remaining residents moved to the mainland. Portsmouth Island is now among those places that once were, but are no more, except for its remaining picturesque and historic structures and the whispering wind echoing of a bustling life of times gone by that one can now only conjure up in one's imagination.
See MORE VIEWS OF PORTSMOUTH ISLAND.
A CAROLINA SEASCAPES PLUS VIDEO segment,
Our Time is a visit to the now deserted village on Portsmouth Island. In the mid to late 1800’s Portsmouth was a thriving community of over 600 people much like Ocracoke is today just a few miles away on the northern side of the inlet. Ships cargo was unloaded on Portsmouth and put on smaller boats for delivery across the shallow sound and up the rivers. Today descendents of former residents and historians gather on Portsmouth every two years for “Homecoming”. The video in “Our Time” was shot at two homecomings. [Watch and listen to this segment of the video.] 
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