Ocracoke Light

Ocracoke Light

Ocracoke Light
Location	Ocracoke Island, Hyde County, North Carolina
Year first constructed	1798
Year first lit	1823 (current tower)
Automated	1955
Foundation	Dressed stone / timber
Construction	Brick with mortar surface
Tower shape	Conical
Markings / pattern	White
Height	76 feet (23 m)
Focal height	75 feet (23 m)
Current lens	4th order Fresnel lens installed 1854
Range	15 nm
Characteristic	Fixed white
Fog signal	none
Admiralty number	J2408
ARLHS number	USA-561
USCG number	2-660
Ocracoke Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	SR 1326, Ocracoke, North Carolina
Coordinates:	35°6′32.280″N 75°59′9.671″W
Area:	2 acres (0.81 ha)
Built:	1823
Architect:	Noah Porter
Governing body:	COAST GUARD
NRHP Reference#:	77000110
Added to NRHP:	November 25, 1977

Ocracoke Light was built in Hyde County, on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina in 1823 by Massachusetts builder Noah Porter. The lighthouse stands 75 feet (23 m) tall. Its diameter narrows from 25 feet (8 m) at the base to 12 feet (3.7 m) at its peak.

In 1864, Confederate troops dismantled the fourth-order Fresnel Lens, but Union forces later restored it.

Ocracoke Light is the oldest operating light station in North Carolina. The lighthouse was automated in 1955. During the summer months when there is a U.S. National Park Ranger on duty, visitors may access the base of the lighthouse. Access to the top of the lighthouse is not allowed.

The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 as Ocracoke Light Station.

Priority

Various claims have been made about the light, including "the Ocracoke Light is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the nation," from the National Park Service. The original 1795 construction a mile away would qualify only as fifth oldest and the current 1823 tower is about twelfth oldest.

References

Ocracoke Lighthouse and Silver Lake from Ocracoke National Park Museum

U.S. Coast Guard Archive