![]() ![]() So sturdy in fact that locals use to move into the structure to ride out hurricanes high above the floodwaters.You can't climb the lighthouse today, but it is interesting to stand at the base and imagine what it would be like to endure howling winds and driving rain inside a small, dark pyramid so close to the raging ocean. It's only 75 feet tall, but with a base that measures 5 feet thick at the bottom, it's sturdy. It is the second oldest operating lighthouse in the country. The Modern Lighthouse: A Hurricane HavenA new lighthouse, complete with a one-room lightkeeper's cottage, was built at the south end of Ocracoke Island in 1823, where it still stands today. Coincidentally, that same year the original tower and cottage were hit by lightning and destroyed. By 1818 the main channel had migrated more than a mile, making the lighthouse obsolete. However, if there's one thing Outer Banks mariners know, it's that the ocean moves things around. It was a somewhat basic structure with a small lightkeeper's cottage nearby. The first lighthouse was constructed on Shell Castle Island between Ocracoke and Portsmouth Island. Lighthouse Service decided to build a lighthouse to help ships navigate through. There are deadly shoals and ever-changing sands beneath the waves that have claimed their share of ships and sailors.The first documented wreck in the inlet was in 1585, but it wasn't until 1794 that the U.S. Thanks to the often-violent storms, strong currents, and high swells, the bottom of the inlet frequently shifts. ![]() The First LighthouseThe waters of the inlet aren't without natural dangers. It took a few years, but the government finally put an end to the pirate's tyranny - and to the pirate himself - at a place now named Teach's Hole just on shore from the inlet. He was so bold that he lived ashore and looted and pillaged the waters from his infamous ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, almost as a normal day job. He set up house on Ocracoke Island, then later across the water in Bath on Pimlico Sound. By the early 1700s, Ocracoke Inlet was a bounty for famous scallywags such as Calico Jack, Anne Bonney, and Mary Stede.Maybe the most famous resident of the inlet was Edward Teach, better known as the pirate Blackbeard. What's More Dangerous than Shoals? Pirates.However, unlike Diamond Shoals off the coast of Cape Hatteras, Ocracoke Inlet's dangers were above the water in the form of pirates. As trade and traffic increased, the inlet developed a notorious reputation for being dangerous - but not because of the shoals. As the colony grew, Ocracoke Inlet became a thriving hub for trade. As an entry point for English colonists who passed through it in 1585 on their way to Roanoke Island (Manteo), it provided a safe, smooth passage. Ocracoke Inlet is the oldest inlet in the Outer Banks.
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