...rain is coming... Ocracoke Village #1
The Ocracoke lighthouse was built in 1823, and is the oldest one still in operation on the North Carolina coast. The little shed next to the lighthouse once stored oil for the Fresnel lens light, and now stores a generator (electricity) for emergencies.
www.nps.gov/archive/caha/ocracokelh.htm
Ocracoke village has about 800 year-round residents - and about 3000 overnight guests in hotel rooms & suites, rental condos & cottages and then some more at the three campsites during the "high season."
When we first visited, in 1981, there was still a real sense of an old village, and you could buy fresh seafood, the catch of the day, in several places on the harbor, Silver Lake. Although the Coast Guard and the ferry landings took up much of the harbor on one side of the almost circular "lake" along with a few docking sites for visiting sailors, most of the harbor had docks for boats belonging to the villagers, a few small, locally owned stores and hotels.... I wish I had taken pictures of the village then.
This summer, I decided to record what I think of as the Ocracoke belonging to the islanders....no "for rent" signs on the fence, personal touches, a few historical sites. The fishing industry is mostly gone, and the economy is now built on tourism. The fishermen (and women!) have learned to catch a different kind of fish. :-)
...rain is coming... Ocracoke Village #1
The Ocracoke lighthouse was built in 1823, and is the oldest one still in operation on the North Carolina coast. The little shed next to the lighthouse once stored oil for the Fresnel lens light, and now stores a generator (electricity) for emergencies.
www.nps.gov/archive/caha/ocracokelh.htm
Ocracoke village has about 800 year-round residents - and about 3000 overnight guests in hotel rooms & suites, rental condos & cottages and then some more at the three campsites during the "high season."
When we first visited, in 1981, there was still a real sense of an old village, and you could buy fresh seafood, the catch of the day, in several places on the harbor, Silver Lake. Although the Coast Guard and the ferry landings took up much of the harbor on one side of the almost circular "lake" along with a few docking sites for visiting sailors, most of the harbor had docks for boats belonging to the villagers, a few small, locally owned stores and hotels.... I wish I had taken pictures of the village then.
This summer, I decided to record what I think of as the Ocracoke belonging to the islanders....no "for rent" signs on the fence, personal touches, a few historical sites. The fishing industry is mostly gone, and the economy is now built on tourism. The fishermen (and women!) have learned to catch a different kind of fish. :-)