New Inlet first opened around 1738, separating Bodie Island from Hatteras Island. When a hurricane opened Oregon Inlet about 11 miles to the north in 1846, the land between New Inlet and Oregon Inlet became known as Pea Island. New Inlet now separated Hatteras Island from Pea Island.
The opening of the wider Oregon Inlet meant less water flowed through New Inlet, and by 1922 the inlet had closed.
In 1933, the inlet briefly reopened after a strong hurricane, but it closed only a few months later. Pea Island has since been a contiguous part of Hatteras Island. Though no longer an island, it has retained its name and is still referred to as Pea Island, and not Hatteras.
