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Portsmouth

Ghost town · Carteret County, North Carolina

Portsmouth quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1948, 1:24,000)
Portsmouth quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1948, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Portsmouth is a ghost town in Carteret County, North Carolina. It is one of 2 former communities in Carteret County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 29th among the 48 North Carolina counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Portsmouth as a historical populated place: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 35.0697° N, 76.0639° W.

Key facts

Elevation0 ft
Nearest living townOcracoke, NC
Distance to it3.7 miles
Coordinates35.06972, -76.06389

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Portsmouth is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Ocracoke, NC (population 709), about 3.7 miles away in a straight line. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Portsmouth?

Portsmouth is in Carteret County, North Carolina, at 35.0697, -76.0639.

How many ghost towns are in Carteret County?

Carteret County, North Carolina has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.