Ocracoke Island
United States · Americas
About
Ocracoke ( OH-krə-kohk) 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. There is a yearly ceremony to honor the fallen sailors presented by the British Royal Navy, American National Park Service, and American Coast Guard.
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 1,000 feet (300 m) of pavement along NC 12.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.