Ocracoke Light was built in Hyde County, on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina in 1823 by Massachusetts builder Noah Porter. The lighthouse stands 75 feet tall. Its diameter narrows from 25 feet at the base to 12 feet at its peak. The lighthouse was built to help guide ships through Ocracoke Inlet into Pamlico Sound.

Why was the Ocracoke lighthouse built?

The lighthouse was built to help guide ships through Ocracoke Inlet into Pamlico Sound. In 1864, Confederate troops dismantled the fourth-order Fresnel Lens, but Union forces later restored it.

How old is Ocracoke?

The European history of the island begins on November 11, 1719 when John Lovick, Secretary of the Colony of North Carolina and a Deputy of the Lords Proprietors, was granted the island of Ocracoke, containing 2,110 acres. During the early eighteenth century, Ocracoke was used chiefly for raising cattle and sheep.