I vacationed on the Outer Banks of North Carolina the summer of 1997. Several of us went on an expedition to Portsmouth Island which lies to the south of Ocracoke Island. Portsmouth Island was once the site of a bustling seaport which served as a terminal for the transfer of cargo from the ocean going vessels of the day to shallower draft boats which could navigate Pamlico Sound to the mainland. Around the turn of the century, Portsmouth Island had a population of about one thousand. One of the inhabitants was Washington Roberts, a carpenter and a cabinetmaker who lived on the island from 1897 to 1910. While many modern day woodworkers toil in relative anonymity, I got the impression that Washington was a central figure in the community during this life there. He built several of the houses in the village during his time and his house, while modest by current standards, is one of the largest structures still standing. An unusual feature is the presence of logs which are notched into the side of the house and serve to buttress it. Ellen Fulcher Cloud, the local historian of Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands, found my description of the house on the Web and explains:
"You mentioned the log supports attached to the side. Did you notice that there were no corner foundation posts? The house was built like that for a reason. It was to allow the house to twist and sway in the wind without blowing down. The side braces were also to keep the house from washing off its foundation during severe flooding during storms. Remains of other very old homes found in wooded areas on the island show the same kind of construction. This is an architectural feature found only on the old homes in the old villages on the Outer Banks."
The house actually dates back to 1790 and apparently was last added onto sometime around 1850. As Ellen explains:
"The house is remembered as the Wash Robert's house because he was the last to live there, it was originally the house of David Wallace who died in May of 1808."
While not a great deal is known of his life, Washington Roberts was a genuine Galoot who worked by hand during a time when machinery was scarce. One can only wonder what it was like to work wood in an environment where nearly every scrap came in by boat. Washington also worked at the local life saving station. Life was hard on the Outer Banks; judging by the gravestones in the local cemetery most men were dead by their early fifties. Washington Roberts, as Ellen pointed out, was also the coffinmaker for the community.
Eventually, new inlets opened up between the islands and the main shipping moved north. The population of Portsmouth Island slowly dwindled until the early 1970's when the last inhabitant moved to the mainland. The US Park Service maintains a few houses in the village and does not allow development or year around habitation. You can get access to the island by a twice a day charter service which operates out of Ocracoke Village. Plan on encountering a large population of mosquitoes.
Copyright 1997, 1998 Thomas Price - All rights reserved
Last revised on 4/22/2000
