Ocracoke Island History
During the early 1700s, Ocracoke Island sat amid a bustling trade route. Larger vessels were unable to navigate the shallow Pamlico Sound, and the island became a settlement for skilled sailors […]
READ MORE »Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum
Located in a restored 1900s-era house, the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum is a non-profit organization that works to preserve the island’s unique history and rich culture. Here, you can find […]
READ MORE »Wild Banker Ponies
Several hundreds of years ago, a shipwreck just offshore left a herd of Spanish mustangs stranded on Ocracoke Island. Their descendants still thrive here today. Physically, the Ocracoke ponies are […]
READ MORE »Island Brogue
“Hoi Toider,” as the Ocracoke Brogue is also known, is a dialect of American English spoken only on remote islands in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The unique accent and vocabulary, […]
READ MORE »British Cemetery
During World War II, German submarines lurked right off Ocracoke Island’s shores. In 1942, the British Royal Navy sent 24 armed trawlers to assist the U.S. Navy in defending our […]
READ MORE »Ocracoke Working Watermen’s Exhibit
In 2006, the watermen on Ocracoke Island banded together to save their livelihood. The island’s last fish house had been put up for sale, which meant there was no access […]
READ MORE »U.S. Navy Beach Jumpers Memorial
In the years leading up to, during, and after World War II, Ocracoke Island was home to a top secret, advanced amphibious training base for a highly classified U.S. Navy […]
READ MORE »Fort Ocracoke Civil War Memorial
During the Civil War, nearby Beacon Island was home to a Confederate fort built on the site of a fort from the War of 1812. Construction on Fort Ocracoke began […]
READ MORE »Portsmouth Island
Established in 1753, Portsmouth Island was one of largest settlements along the Outer Banks, but changing shipping routes, Civil War, and a lagging economy caused many people to leave and […]
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