Henry Pigott House, Portsmouth Village

The Henry Pigott House

On our vacation to Ocracoke Island, Jenne and I visited the deserted town of Portsmouth Village on the neighboring island to the south, Cape Lookout. In this long deserted village there are twenty-one preserved structures and the home of Mr. Henry Pigott is one of them.

A little background on the population of the island. The 1860 census for the island listed 685 residents. The coming Civil War saw the residents flee for the mainland as Union troops approached. After the war's end many residents choose not to return. For the islanders that remained, fishing replace shipping as the primary way of life. Isolation, a depressed economy, and the destruction caused by hurricanes brought on a continued decline in population. In 1956, the population of the village numbered just seventeen residents. With the death of Henry Pigott on January 5th, 1971, the last two residents, Elma Dixon and Marian Babb, reluctantly left for the mainland. The town was now completely deserted.

Jenne and I felt lost in time as we wandered the village. Apart from a NPS volunteer and four workmen repairing a roof, we were like two explorers stumbling on a town that time forgot. The post office and general store still had some dry goods and other supplies on the shelves. There were old notices on the bulletin board. Old scales and a cash register on the counter. We were in another time and looking at a way of life long gone. We roamed over to the church, which is still very serviceable and occasionally a wedding or special service takes place there. Looking beyond the church to a small point we spotted the home of Henry Pigott, the last male resident of the island. He lived their all of life in this little yellow home on the water.

PS, I added a category under Topics called Travel Log. Click that link and read stories and see photos of out trip to Ocracoke and other travels. Enjoy.