Ocracoke, North Carolina

Ocracoke ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated town located at the southern end of Ocracoke Island, within Hyde County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 797 at the 2020 census, down from 948 at the 2010 census.

No bridges connect Ocracoke Island to the mainland, though the main road across the island is part of North Carolina Highway 12, which uses a series of ferries to connect to Hatteras Island, to Cedar Island, and to the mainland at Swan Quarter. The economy of the island is driven by tourism and commercial fishing. A unique dialect of English, known colloquially as the Hoi Toider accent, is spoken in Ocracoke, though among younger residents it is being replaced by more standard dialects of General American. Ocracoke Island was the location of the pirate Blackbeard's death in November 1718. Though it saw no direct military action, Ocracoke was the site of a Confederate fort during the U.S. Civil War. During World War II, German submarines torpedoed several British ships off the coast of the island; the remains of four sailors washed ashore and they are interred at a small British military cemetery on the island.

Being so far out in the Atlantic Ocean, Ocracoke Island is frequently in the path of tropical cyclones, notably Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which destroyed approximately of pavement along NC 12.

History

The name Ocracoke evolved from the Algonquian word Wokokon or Wococcon which appeared on early maps of the island in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This name referred to the island and to the nearby areas inhabited by Native Americans. Over time, European explorers and settlers altered the pronunciation and spelling of the name. By the 18th century, it had transformed into “Ocracoke.” The name may have resulted from the way English-speaking settlers understood or mispronounced the Native American term. A popular folklore explanation suggests that the name might have originated from an exclamation attributed to the pirate Blackbeard: “Oh, Crow Cock!”—allegedly a reference to a rooster crowing on the island. However, this is likely just a legend rather than a factual etymology.

In the 16th century, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands were inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Native Americans called the Hatteras or Croatan peoples. Okracoke was called Wococcon by the 16th century explorers, possibly a reference to a Native American settlement at the site. The Hatteras people disappeared by the mid 18th century. Some were victims of epidemics of Old World diseases. Others intermarried with white settlers. "Yaupon tea" or "black drink" was made from the dried leaves of the indigenous yaupon, a native holly, and was used ceremonially by the Indians in the area.

The Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano described the area in detail in 1524. He was unable to navigate the shallow inlets leading into Pamlico Sound. In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh's ship the Tiger ran aground on a sand bar in Ocracoke Inlet and was forced to land on the island for repairs. English colonists attempted a settlement at Roanoke Island in the late 16th century, but it failed. This effectively halted European settlement in the area until 1663, when the 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 on the island in a fierce battle with troops from Virginia on November 22, 1718. The grounds of what is now the Springer's Point Nature Preserve were said to be his hideout.

left|thumb|Howard Street

left|thumb|Sand dunes

The state assembly established Pilot Town in 1715. Throughout the mid-to-late 18th century, the island was home to a number of especially skilled schooner pilots who could get smaller ships through the inlet to Pamlico Sound. As population increased on the mainland, demand increased for shipment of goods from ocean-going vessels. 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.

By the late 19th century, the shipping business was gone, and the United States Life-Saving Service became a major source of steady income for local men. Fishing became more important to the livelihood of the area, including charters for tourists.

The Ocracoke Historic District, Ocracoke Light Station, and Salter-Battle Hunting and Fishing Lodge are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Major hurricanes struck the island in August and September 1933, September 1944, and August 1949. The first-person accounts of these storms were recorded on the walls of the "Hurricane House".

Ocracoke continues to suffer frequent storm damage, including the recent Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which destroyed approximately of pavement along NC 12. Afterwards, Ocracoke Island was closed to visitors for contractors to repair the road and dune line. Normal access was restored as of December 5, 2019.

Fort Ocracoke

thumb|left|Fort Ocracoke

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 octagon-shaped fort was built on a previous War of 1812 site. At one point nearly 500 Confederate troops were stationed in and around Ocracoke and the fort. 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 on September 17, 1861. Beacon Island and the fort subsided beneath the waves of the inlet after the 1933 hurricanes that struck the area. The remnants of Fort Ocracoke were relocated and identified in 1998 by the Surface Interval Diving Company.

Energy modernization project

In May 2021, Ocracoke was one of 11 communities (along with nearby Nags Head, North Carolina) chosen by the United States Department of Energy to participate in the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project, a program to provide federal aid for remote communities to modernize their electric infrastructure and resiliency through natural disasters and outages. Ocracoke's grant is used to analyze the possibility of electrifying its ferry fleet. An electrified ferry fleet would increase hurricane evacuation access while decreasing reliance on fossil fuels.

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 ferry terminal, a pony pen, a small runway), the entire island is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

thumb|left|View of Ocracoke Lighthouse across Silver Lake

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 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. Ocracoke Light is situated near Silver Lake and has remained in continuous operation since 1823.

right|thumb|British Cemetery

The island is home to the Ocracoke British Cemetery. During World War II, German submarines sank several British ships, including , and the bodies of British sailors were washed ashore. They were buried in a cemetery on the island. A lease for the 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 (35.112687, -75.975895). The United States Census Bureau counts the entire island as a census-designated place (CDP), with a total area of , of which , or 89.58%, of the area is land, and , or 10.58%, is water.

Transportation and public services

A single paved two-lane road, NC 12, runs from the village at the southwestern end of the island to the ferry dock at the northeastern tip of the island, where a one-hour-long free ferry connects to Hatteras Island. The second ferry dock, located in the village, has toll connections to Swan Quarter, on the mainland and Cedar Island, near Atlantic. A passenger ferry operates across Ocracoke Inlet to the deserted village of Portsmouth, at the northern end of the Core Banks.

Ocracoke Island Airport (FAA Identifier W95) is located slightly southeast of the village, allowing small aircraft to land.

Being so far out in the Atlantic Ocean, Ocracoke Island is frequently in the path of tropical cyclones, notably Hurricane Dorian in 2019, which destroyed approximately of pavement along NC 12. This is possibly a consideration against building a bridge to this island.

The lengthy travel time between Ocracoke and other portions of Hyde County meant that, according to David S. Cecelski, author of Along Freedom Road: Hyde County, North Carolina, and the Fate of Black Schools in the South, that "Ocracokers have had little interaction with the rest of Hyde County".

Hyde County maintains the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Department located on Highway 12.

In addition, transportation to and from Ocracoke is served through the North Carolina Ferry System. right|thumb|A ferry arriving from Ocracoke

Economy

Tourism

right|thumb|Sunset over Silver Lake Harbor

right|thumb|Many touristic places on the island refer to [[Pirates in the arts and popular culture|piracy in their design. They are often decorated with a "Jolly Roger", including the purported flag of Blackbeard.]]

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 occupies hotels, campgrounds and weekly rental houses—and day visitors arrive by ferry from Hatteras Island. Several bars, a brewery, dozens of restaurants, and many shops, stores and other tourist-based businesses open for the tourist season. Visitors can find many shops that feature local, handmade goods, as well as imported artisanal goods and rare antiques, unusual for such a small island. Thanks to the island's distance from major population and light pollution sources, in the summer months, the beaches on Ocracoke provide excellent views of the Milky Way galaxy.

Fishing

left|thumb|Ocracoke Island Lighthouse

Commercial fishing contributes to the local economy with chartered sport fishing drawing tourism. With easy access to Pamlico Sound, the Atlantic coast and the Gulf Stream, Ocracoke offers various fishing opportunities, from small Sound fish to tuna and drum.

Winter economy

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.

Local dialect

Ocracoke Island and other parts of the Outer Banks historically have a distinct dialect of English, often referred to as a brogue. The dialect is known as the High Tider dialect, after the characteristic phrase "high tide" (often pronounced "hoi toide"). Due to the influx of tourists and greater contact with the mainland in recent years, however, the brogue has been increasingly influenced by outside dialects.

Demographics

2020 census

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"

|+Ocracoke racial composition The population density as of 2000 was 80.4 people per square mile (31.1/km). In 2000, there were 784 housing units at an average density of in 2000. As of 2010, the racial makeup of the CDP was 96.2% White, 1.6% African American, 0.6% from two or more races, 0.4% from Native American, and 0.2% Asian. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.1% of the population. BHM Regional Library operates a library branch within the Ocracoke School and Community Library.

Culture

thumb|right|Ocracoke Airport

In Ocracoke, figs and fig cake are a prominent part of the town's cuisine, and the town has an annual fig festival that includes a fig cake contest.

Ocracoke is home to one radio station, WOVV. The studios of WOVV, branded as "Ocracoke Community Radio", are located on Back Road in Ocracoke.

The Ocracoke Observer newspaper provides coverage of local and regional events. The Observer website is updated daily and a monthly print edition is produced March through December.

In popular culture

Ocracoke is the setting for the bestselling A Holiday for Edith and the Bears in the Lonely Doll series by Dare Wright
Ocracoke appears in the novel A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Ocracoke is the setting for a stone circle portal in Outlander (TV series) based on the books by Diana Gabaldon
Most of the setting in the novel The Wish by Nicholas Sparks takes place in Ocracoke

References

External links

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Clips from The Ocracoke Brogue documentary