Friends of Portsmouth Island

10/21/2026

"My father first discovered the island and village of Portsmouth several years prior to 1922. He was on a winter hunting trip with his friend, E.C. Hillyer also of Raleigh.... , traveling and living aboard Mr. Hillyer's boat. A memorable winter it was; the sound froze over from Ocracoke Inlet to Beaufort Inlet and the boat was solidly frozen in, just off the island. They told of walking on the thick ice from the boat to the shore. In spite of the bitter weather on this initial trip, however, Portsmouth Island inspired love-at-first-sight for my father. He returned each year, finally purchasing the story-and-half that had belonged to Henry Babb, so that he could bring his family with him." (Text and photo from "Portsmouth: Island with a Soul" by Dorothy Byrum Bedwell, copyright 1984)

So, how about all of you? How did you first discover and fall in love with Portsmouth? We'd love to hear your stories!!

10/16/2026

Such a gorgeous photo of a Portsmouth sunset taken by Gregory Gilgo in 2020!! Thank you, Gregory!

10/11/2026

This photo, from the Dot Salter Willis collection, was sent to us by Frances Eubanks. Thank you Frances! It’s an early photo of the current church surrounded by scaffolding, apparently being rebuilt after a bad storm. Based on the lack of steps, it looks like it still could have been under construction but the notation on the back of the photo says that it was being rebuilt after a storm. Also considering the attire of the woman in the photo and the glass in the church doors, we’re guessing that this was probably taken around 1914/1915.

10/06/2026

This photo, taken by Rosanne Penley in the early 2000s, shows the sign directing visitors to the John Wallace gravesite. It's located on Sheep Island and is now totally inaccessible except by private boat. Have any of you ever been to it? Please comment below.

10/01/2026

We’d like to wish a “happy birthday” today to life-long Portsmouth resident Annie Hubert “Hub” Bragg! Hub was born on Portsmouth October 1, 1872, the daughter of Valentine Bragg and his wife Jane Gaskill Bragg. Sometime along the line, she acquired the nickname Hub by which she was known for most of her life. She married Joseph “Jodie” (or “Jody”) Styron on Portsmouth November 23, 1899. Jodie, Hub and Hub’s brother Tom Bragg all moved in together – an arrangement that continued for the rest of their lives. Jodie and Tom ran a gun/hunt club and served as hunting guides. Every winter, they took in boarders who came to hunt, with Hub taking care of the house and doing all of the cooking for them. Quite a job! They started out in a small house, but a much larger one was required to service all of these boarders. So the older, smaller house was torn down sometime in the early 1920s, and Hub, Jodie and Tom built a larger house on the same location. It was completed around 1927 and is the Styron Bragg House that we know today. This meant even more for Hub to manage and take care of! She continued in this role until the time of her death from a heart attack, we believe (“coronary accident”) at the age of 83 in 1956. She’d lived on Portsmouth for all of her life and never really got recognition for all that she did. She’s buried in the Cedar Island Community Cemetery. Photo is from Jean Webber’s collection, dating from sometime between about 1910 and 1915. We’re guessing that it was taken on the steps of the original smaller house that was on the site of the current Styron Bragg House.

09/26/2026

Interesting article from 1818!

1818 - On August 16, 1818 at five o'clock the wooden lighthouse on Shell Castle just northwest of Portsmouth Island was struck by lightening and destroyed by fire along with the adjacent keepers dwelling -
published September 9, 1818 Alexandria Gazette & Daily Advertiser

09/21/2026

Introducing the 2027/2028 board that was elected at the fall meeting on Saturday:

From left to right: Frances Eubanks (director), Barbara Gaskins-Eugene (director), Connie Mason (president), Tom Anderson (director), Emily Summey (secretary), Michele Rush (director), Julius Coronel (treasurer), Ted Summey (director), David Brown (vice president), Suzanne McWilliams (director). Not pictured: Kathy McNeilly (immediate past president).

Congratulations to all!!

09/18/2026

FINAL REMINDER! We hope to see a number of you at our fall meeting at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum at 9 AM tomorrow morning, Sept. 19. You do not need to be a member to attend.

09/13/2026

Most of today's students have been back at school for a few weeks now. School was very different for the children of Portsmouth! This is an excerpt from Ben Salter’s book “Portsmouth Island: Short Stories and History”, copyright 1972. “The school would only be six months a year if it was not a stormy year. If it was stormy the teachers were afraid to go to the little school house. I remember one year we had school only two months. A storm came in October and scared the teacher so bad she did not return.” (1977 photo by the National Park Service)

09/08/2026

It’s been 7 years now since Hurricane Dorian devasted Ocracoke and Portsmouth on September 6, 2019. We were all following what was happening on Ocracoke all day, but we had no word on Portsmouth until the following afternoon on the 7th when Jeff West checked out the Village and this was posted on the CALO page. There was a lot of damage, but with the hard work of the NPS, CALO, FPI and so many volunteer groups, the village survived Dorian.