WE ARE ON FACEBOOK!
Be sure to check us out on our new Facebook page! Click on the Facebook link to go directly to our page. Feel free to post your comments and photos about our favorite place!
WEBSITE UPDATES
We are currently encountering some problems with our Photo Gallery due to some website updates. We appreciate your patience and hope to have this completed soon!
CONGRATULATIONS!
We are pleased to report that the Friends of Portsmouth Island has been recognized by the North Carolina Society of Historians with two awards: (1) the Malcolm Fowler Society Award for FPI’s dedication and devotion to preserving and perpetuating North Carolina history (Henry House Project), and (2) the Claude Hunter Moore Journal Award (Doctor’s Creek Journal, edited by Jim White). These awards were granted on October 19, 2013, and we would like to congratulate all members of FPI for helping us keep alive our mission to preserve both Portsmouth’s and North Carolina’s history. The Malcolm Fowler Society Award will be hung in Henry’s House for visitors to see.
FALL MEETING – 2014
FPI’s fall membership meeting will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2014 at the Sanitary Restaurant in Morehead City. The meeting will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will be followed by a dutch treat lunch, ordering from the menu. This will be an important meeting as we will be electing officers for the next 2 years. Please come out and support FPI and the Sanitary Restaurant.
Please note that because 2014 is a homecoming year (April 26, 2014), there will be no regular spring membership meeting. That meeting will resume in 2015, which is not a homecoming year, so we really hope you will plan to attend the fall meeting in Morehead City on September 20!
VILLAGE AND CHURCH UPDATE
Although the church is still closed for assessments and repairs, the village is OPEN to visitors. Haulover Dock has been repaired, and the Austins can get you over to Portsmouth. Give them a call at 252-928-4361 or 252-928-5431. The dock at Henry’s house has been repaired as well, so things are moving along.
HOMECOMING 2014!
For those who like to plan early, put April 26, 2014 on your calendar for the next Portsmouth Homecoming! It’s never too early to make plans, and we want to give all plenty of notice! Be sure to check out our Photo Gallery link for pictures of Homecoming 2012. The Homecoming Committee is hard at work planning for April and you won’t want to miss this one! We are so pleased that the Washington Roberts house will be open for viewing for the first time during Homecoming, so don’t miss this opportunity to see it! Continue to check this website and our Facebook page for specific Homecoming details as soon as they are finalized.
For additional information on Homecoming and Portsmouth, click on our “Cape Lookout National Seashore” link and the “Visiting Portsmouth” link and you will find additional general information regarding Homecoming, audio tours, brochures, etc.
DOCTOR’S CREEK JOURNAL
Contact editor Jim White (info@jamesedwardwhite.com) for questions relating to the newsletter or if you would like to submit photos, articles, etc. Be sure to keep your membership current so you don’t miss any issues of the Doctor’s Creek Journal. You won’t want to miss the next one!
HENRY’S HOUSE PROJECT
FPI’s current project is the renovation, furnishing and opening to the public of the Henry Pigott House in Portsmouth Village. The house has been under lease for many years and considered a private residence. In December 2010 the Friends of Portsmouth Island received a Special Use Permit from the NPS to renovate the house and associated buildings on the lot. When the restoration is complete, the house will be open to visitors as a museum with emphasis on the last residents, Henry and Lizzie Pigott (1930-1971). The cost of the project is being funded by contributions to the Friends of Portsmouth Island-Henry’s House Project Fund. A lot of work has already been done to the house, and we dedicated the house at Homecoming with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tours of the house. The house is furnished with period furniture that belonged to Henry and Lizzie Pigott, as well as other pieces from Portsmouth. The work is ongoing, and we have established a fund for the continuing maintenance of Henry’s House. Work continues on the house as weather permits. We are so proud that the N.C. Society of Historians have recognized the importance of this project with the Malcolm Fowler Society Award we recently received. This award will be displayed in Henry’s House for all to see, and the house will be open for touring at Homecoming!
MEMBERSHIP
If you are not a member and wish to join, please click on the “Contact Us” link to request a membership form, and we will get one to you right away. Dues for members are renewed each January, so we ask all members to send your dues as soon as possible so we don’t have to go to the extra expense of sending out reminders. We appreciate those who have kept their memberships updated!