Portsmouth Island Homecoming returns for 2024 on April 27

Every two years, deserted Portsmouth Island comes alive with hundreds of descendants, friends, and visitors during a springtime event that honors the once-thriving village’s roots, and rekindles the island’s inherent sense of community.

The event that brings everyone together is the Portsmouth Island Homecoming, and the more than 30-year tradition is once again returning for 2024.

The 2024 Homecoming will be focused on the Lifesaving Station, and updates and announcements from the host organization Friends of Portsmouth Island will be posted in the days and weeks leading up to the event.

Friends of Portsmouth Island (FPI), which was formed in 1989, sponsored its first homecoming event on April 25, 1992, although similar Homecoming-style gatherings have occurred since 1973. Since then, the biennial gathering has attracted hundreds of family members, as well as newcomers, who tend to return year after year after their initial visit.

The history, as well as the aesthetic of the small Portsmouth village, is what attracts many visitors who have no direct familial ties with the residents who carved out a hard life on the island for generations.

Established in 1752, Portsmouth Island was once the biggest port community along the Outer Banks. At its peak in 1860, Portsmouth village had roughly 700 residents, which included 200 enslaved African Americans, 100 school-aged children, and two teachers.

But a series of events in the years after this peak would signal the village’s downfall. The Civil War led to two invasions of the island – first by the Confederates, and then by the Union forces – which caused the temporary abandonment of the village.

A number of hurricanes in the 20th century also hastened the decline. As new inlets opened on Hatteras Island and the northern Outer Banks, and a 1933 hurricane drove away many residents, the village dwindled. The U.S. Coast Guard Station was decommissioned in the 1930s, the school closed in 1943, and only the Post Office continued to function.

By the late 1960s, the village had just three residents: Henry Pigott, Marian Gray Babb, and Nora Dixon. Henry ran the mail boat from Portsmouth to Ocracoke and took care of the two elderly ladies until he fell ill in 1970. He moved to Ocracoke Island and passed away in 1971, and the women moved away soon after.

But even though the village has been deserted for more than 50 years, its legacy is still very much alive, and the Homecoming regularly attracts more than 400 visitors at every event.

The schedule for the Homecoming is fairly flexible, with folks touring the varying buildings during the morning, followed by a program/service, and then a huge potluck lunch that requires countless tables and coolers to contain.

But the highlight of the event is arguably the Homecoming Service, where everyone gathers in the giant shaded tent in front of the Portsmouth Village church to honor the village and its families.

Because Portsmouth Island can only be accessed via a private boat, ferry service is provided to and from the village for the event from Ocracoke Island.

It may have been a long two years since the last big gathering of family and friends, but with descendants scattered all over the East Coast, and more and more newcomers discovering the celebration, the 2024 Portsmouth Island Homecoming is sure to draw a crowd

For more information on Friends of Portsmouth Island as well as the upcoming 2024 event on April 27, visit https://friendsofportsmouthisland.org/fopi/.