Historic Portsmouth Village Methodist Church is Damaged by Hurricane Sandy

Date: November 16, 2012
Contact: Wouter Ketel, 252-728-2250 ext. 3005

HARKERS ISLAND, NC - Cape Lookout National Seashore Superintendent Pat Kenney reported that a damage assessment performed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy revealed that the Methodist Church in Historic Portsmouth Village sustained structural damage. National Park Service staff discovered that the church was leaning and found structural weakness in the walls of the building.As a result, the church has been deemed to be unsafe and will be closed to the public until further notice. Cape Lookout National Seashore has requested additional technical expertise to further assess the structural integrity of the building.

During Hurricane Sandy, the village was flooded by storm tides.The Post Office received approximately 8 inches of water and the Portsmouth School lost some windows.Flood water reached the doorway of the U.S. Life-Saving Station.

Historic Portsmouth Village is located south of the Town of Ocracoke across Ocracoke Inlet and is part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Chartered in 1753, Portsmouth was the primary lightering harbor during Colonial times.It was the largest village on North Carolina's Outer Banks until after the Civil War.