Outer Banks Vacation Rental
Outer Banks Vacation Rental
Ocracoke is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated town located at the southern end of Ocracoke Island , located entirely within Hyde County, North Carolina. The population was 769 as of the 2000 census. It is also the location of the reputed Blackbeard's death.
The Ocracoke area made headlines during the Independence Day weekend in July 2009 when a truck carrying fireworks exploded, eventually killing three, and injuring several more.
History
The Outer Banks area was occasionally visited by Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, but was never heavily settled. A small village on Hatteras Island is said to have had forty fighting men. The area was first described in detail by Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian navigator, in 1524. Verrazzano was unable to navigate the tortuous channels leading into the Pamlico Sound and assumed that China lay beyond the Outer Banks.
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh's colony in their ship called the "Tiger", in their search of Roanoke Island, collided with a sand bar in Ocracoke Inlet and were forced to land on the island for repairs.
An attempt at an English settlement was tried at Roanoke Island in the late 16th century, but it failed. This effectively halted European settlement until 1663, when Carolina Colony was chartered by King Charles II. However, remote Ocracoke Island was not permanently settled until 1750, being a pirate haven at times before then. It was a favorite anchorage of Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard. He was killed in November 1718 in battle in Teach's Hole, a channel slightly west of the present location of Ocracoke village.
Throughout the mid- to late-1700s, the Island was home to a number of pilots, who could get smaller ships through the inlet to the Pamlico Sound. As population increased on the mainland, demand for transshipment of goods from ocean-going vessels increased. The population was listed as 139 in the 1800 census. Warehouses were built to hold goods off-loaded from larger ships offshore and then loaded onto smaller Schooners to be delivered to plantations and towns along the mainland rivers.
Fort Ocracoke, a Confederate fortification constructed at the beginning of the American Civil War, was situated on Beacon Island in Ocracoke Inlet, two miles to the west-southwest of Ocracoke village. The Confederates abandoned and partially destroyed the fort in August 1861 after Union victories on nearby Hatteras Island. Union forces razed it a month later. Beacon Island subsided beneath the waves of the inlet in the early 20th century. The remnants of Fort Ocracoke were located and identified in 1998.
By the late 19th century, the shipping business was gone, and the United States Lifesaving Service became a major source of steady income for local men. Fishing, including charters for tourists, became more important to the livelihood of the area.
Geography
The island of Ocracoke is a part of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is one of the most remote islands in the Outer Banks, as it can only be reached by one of three public ferries (two of which are toll ferries), private boat, or private plane. Other than the village of Ocracoke and a few other areas (a campground, a pony pen, a small runway), the entire island is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. A single paved two-lane road, NC 12, runs from the village at the southern end of the island to the ferry dock at the northern tip of the island, where a 40-minute long free ferry connects to Hatteras Island. The second ferry dock, located in the village, has toll connections to Swan Quarter, North Carolina on the mainland and Cedar Island, near Atlantic, North Carolina. Ocracoke Island Airport (FAA Identifier W95) is located slightly south-east of the village, allowing small aircraft to land.
The village of Ocracoke is located around a small sheltered harbor called Silver Lake, with a second smaller residential area built around a series of man-made canals called Oyster Creek. The village is located at the widest point of the island, protected from the Atlantic Ocean by sand dunes and a salt marsh. The average height of the island is less than five feet above sea level, and many of the buildings on the island are built on pilings to lift them off the ground. Flooding is a risk during both hurricanes and large storms. North America's second oldest lighthouse Ocracoke Lighthouse is situated near Silver Lake and has remained in continuous operation since 1823.
The island is also home to a British cemetery. During World War II, German submarines sank several British ships including the HMT Bedfordshire , and the bodies of British sailors were washed ashore. They were buried in a cemetery on the island. A lease for the 2,290-square-foot (213 m 2 ) plot, where a British flag flies at all times, was given to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for as long as the land remained a cemetery, and the small site officially became a British cemetery. The United States Coast Guard station on Ocracoke Island takes care of the property. A memorial ceremony is held each year in May.
Ocracoke village is located at 35°6′46″N 75°58′33″W / 35.11278°N 75.97583°W / 35.11278; -75.97583 (35.112687, -75.975895). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.6 square miles (24.9 km²), of which, 9.6 square miles (24.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.62%) is water.
Economy
The economy of Ocracoke Island is based almost entirely on tourism. During the winter, the population shrinks and only a few businesses remain open. During the spring, summer, and early fall, an influx of tourists occupy hotels, campgrounds and weekly rental houses — and day visitors arrive by ferry from Hatteras Island. Several bars, dozens of restaurants, and many shops, stores and other tourist-based businesses open for the tourist season, and every business on the island is independently owned and operated by residents. There are no chains or franchises.
Ocracoke was named America's Best Beach for 2007 by Dr. Stephen Leatherman, a professor of coastal ecology at Florida International University who compiles his annual list under the moniker "Dr. Beach". Ocracoke had previously earned the #2 and #3 spots in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Commercial fishing contributes to the local economy with chartered sport fishing drawing tourism. With easy access to the Pamlico Sound, the Atlantic coast and the Gulf Stream, Ocracoke offers various fishing opportunities, from small Sound fish to tuna and drum.
During the winter, the island's only main employers are construction, the NC Department of Transportation and the businesses that support the small population. Many islanders use the winter as time off, since they tend to work between 60 and 80 hours a week during the tourist season.
Music
Despite its small size, the island has a sizable music scene with a larger than normal percentage of its residents being musicians. The island hosts an annual Ocrafolk Festival featuring a weekend full of live performances. Besides the numerous restaurants which host live music, visitors and locals can attend the Ocrafolk Opry each Wednesday evening at the Deep Water Theater during the season, featuring a panoply of local musicians and special visiting guests. Also on Wednesdays is the Open Mic Night at Mango Locos for professionals and amateurs alike. The only radio station licensed to a community in Hyde County, WOVV 90.1 FM has "Locals Only Beach" music blocks playing only the music of local bands. Several local stores carry cds produced by the islands musicians. Local musicians recently received national attention when they appeared performing in the movie Nights in Rodanthe. Notable local musical acts include Molasses Creek, Baby Dee and the Free Mustache Rides Again, Coyote and Mya Rose.
Local dialect
Ocracoke Island historically had its own distinct dialect of English, often referred to as a brogue. A characteristic phrase is "high tide," pronounced somewhat like "hoi toid." Due to the influx of tourists and greater contact with the mainland in recent years, however, the O
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