During the early years of the United States, Portsmouth Island was an important part of North Carolina's sea trade. Ocracoke Inlet was one of the most traveled inlets to get goods in and out of North Carolina's interior. Portsmouth Island is on the south side of that inlet. In the early 1800's New Bern became North Carolina's largest city largely because of the trade that went through that inlet. Many of the inhabitants of that island were pilots who helped merchant ships navigate around the … Continue reading...
