Editing Ocracoke, North Carolina (section)

==History==
The name Ocracoke evolved from the Algonquian word ''Wokokon'' or ''Wococcon'' which appeared on early maps of the island in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This name referred to the island and to the nearby areas inhabited by Native Americans. Over time, European explorers and settlers altered the pronunciation and spelling of the name. By the 18th century, it had transformed into “Ocracoke.” The name may have resulted from the way English-speaking settlers understood or mispronounced the Native American term. A popular folklore explanation suggests that the name might have originated from an exclamation attributed to the pirate Blackbeard: “Oh, Crow Cock!”—allegedly a reference to a rooster crowing on the island. However, this is likely just a legend rather than a factual etymology.

In the 16th century, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands were inhabited by [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking Native Americans called the [[Hatteras Indians|Hatteras]] or [[Croatan]] peoples. Okracoke was called Wococcon by the 16th century explorers, possibly a reference to a Native American settlement at the site.<ref name="Evans">{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Phillip W. |title=Croatoan Indians |url=https://www.ncpedia.org/croatoan-indians |website=Encyclopedia of North Carolina |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |access-date=15 June 2023}}</ref>  The Hatteras people disappeared by the mid 18th century. Some were victims of epidemics of Old World diseases. Others intermarried with white settlers.<ref name="Garber">{{cite web |last1=Garber |first1=Pat |title=Beach Discovery is a Prehistoric portal in time |url=https://ocracokeobserver.com/2015/05/28/beach-discovery-is-a-prehistoric-portal-in-time/ |website=Ocracoke Observer |access-date=15 June 2023}}</ref> "Yaupon tea" or "black drink" was made from the dried leaves of the indigenous [[yaupon]], a native holly, and was used ceremonially by the Indians in the area.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hudson |first= Charles M|date= 1979|title= Black Drink: A Native American Tea|publisher=  University of Georgia Press|pages=2, 131 }}</ref>

The Italian explorer [[Giovanni da Verrazzano]] described the area in detail in 1524. He was unable to navigate the shallow inlets leading into [[Pamlico Sound]].<ref name="ocracoke_history1">{{cite web |url=http://nagsheadvacationrentals.net/history-behind-ocracoke-island |title=The History Behind Ocracoke Island |publisher=ocracokepreservation.org |access-date=2013-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009153225/http://nagsheadvacationrentals.net/history-behind-ocracoke-island/ |archive-date=2014-10-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ocracoke_usgw">{{cite web |url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/hyde/misc/ocrahist.txt |title=OCRACOKE ISLAND HISTORY - Hyde County, NC |author=Earl W. O'Neal, Jr. |publisher=files.usgwarchives.net (USGenWeb Archives) |access-date=2013-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810002558/http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/hyde/misc/ocrahist.txt |archive-date=2014-08-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1585, Sir [[Walter Raleigh]]'s ship the ''Tiger'' ran aground on a sand bar in [[Ocracoke Inlet]] and was forced to land on the island for repairs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.outerbankschamber.com/main/ocracoke-island-outer-banks-nc/ |title=A Brief History of Ocracoke |publisher=outerbankschamber.com |access-date=2013-06-01}}</ref> English colonists attempted a settlement at [[Roanoke Island]] in the late 16th century, but it failed. This effectively halted European settlement in the area until 1663, when the [[Carolina Colony]] was chartered by King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. However, remote Ocracoke Island was not permanently settled until 1750, being a pirate haven at times before then. It was a favorite anchorage of Edward Teach, better known as the pirate [[Blackbeard]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Cosco |first=Joseph |title=Blackbeard's Lair |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/travel/1993/11/28/blackbeards-lair/6fcbdb35-c9ad-431b-a7f5-eb6b75d94f0a/ |date=28 November 1993 |access-date=18 July 2018 |newspaper=Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106193256/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/travel/1993/11/28/blackbeards-lair/6fcbdb35-c9ad-431b-a7f5-eb6b75d94f0a/ |archive-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> He was killed on the island in a fierce battle with troops from Virginia on November 22, 1718.<ref name="D. Moore. 1997 pp. 31">D. Moore. (1997) "A General History of Blackbeard the Pirate, the Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure". In ''Tributaries'', Volume VII, 1997. pp. 31–35. (North Carolina Maritime History Council)</ref> The grounds of what is now the Springer's Point Nature Preserve were said to be his hideout.<ref name="frommers_carolinas">{{cite book |last1=Porter |first1=Darwin |last2=Prince |first2=Danforth |year=2007 |title=Frommers: The Carolinas & Georgia}}</ref>

[[Image:Ocracoke Part 3 014.JPG|left|thumb|Howard Street]]
[[Image:Ocracoke Part 2 121.JPG|left|thumb|Sand dunes]]
The state assembly established Pilot Town in 1715.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourstate.com/ocracoke-ghosts/|title=A Circle, A Line, An Island: Ocracoke Ghosts|last=Zacharias|first=Lee|work=[[Our State]]|date=2015-04-29|access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref> Throughout the mid-to-late 18th century, the island was home to a number of especially skilled [[schooner]] pilots who could get smaller ships through the inlet to Pamlico Sound. As population increased on the mainland, demand increased for shipment of goods from ocean-going vessels. Warehouses were built to hold goods off-loaded from larger ships offshore and then loaded onto smaller schooners to be delivered to plantations and towns along the mainland rivers.<ref name="villagecraftsmen">{{cite web |url=https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/slavery-on-ocracoke/ |title=Ocracoke Newsletter: September 21, 2011 |publisher=villagecraftsmen.com |date=2011-09-21 |access-date=2013-06-13}}</ref>

By the late 19th century, the shipping business was gone, and the [[United States Life-Saving Service]] became a major source of steady income for local men.<ref name="nps_ocracoke2">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/caha/historyculture/ocracokeponies.htm |title=Ocracoke's Favorite Residents |publisher=nps.gov |access-date=2013-06-02}}</ref> Fishing became more important to the livelihood of the area, including charters for tourists.<ref name="nytimes_ocracoke">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/travel/11ocracoke.html |title=Ocracoke in Fall: Gloriously Empty |author=Cindy Price |newspaper=nytimes.com |date=2005-11-11 |access-date=2013-06-03}}</ref>

The [[Ocracoke Historic District]], [[Ocracoke Light]] Station, and [[Salter-Battle Hunting and Fishing Lodge]] are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> Major hurricanes struck the island in August and September 1933, September 1944, and August 1949. The first-person accounts of these storms were recorded on the walls of the "Hurricane House".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Burlingame |first1=Dr. William V. |title=Hurricane Boards |url=https://www.villagecraftsmen.com/hurricane-boards/ |website=Ocracoke Newsletter |date=21 July 2012 |publisher=Village Craftsman |access-date=25 April 2016}}</ref>

Ocracoke continues to suffer frequent storm damage, including the recent [[Hurricane Dorian]] in 2019, which destroyed approximately {{convert|1,000|ft}} of pavement along [[North Carolina Highway 12|NC 12]]. Afterwards, Ocracoke Island was closed to visitors for contractors to repair the road and dune line. Normal access was restored as of December 5, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncdot.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/2019/2019-12-04-nc12-reopens-ocracoke.aspx|title=N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island to Open to All Traffic Thursday|date=2019-04-12|website=NCDOT|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-01}}</ref>

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===Fort Ocracoke===
[[Image:Fort-Ocracoke.JPG|thumb|left|Fort Ocracoke]]
Fort Ocracoke, a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] fortification constructed at the beginning of the [[American Civil War]], was situated on Beacon Island in Ocracoke Inlet, two miles to the west-southwest of Ocracoke village. The octagon-shaped fort was built on a previous [[War of 1812]] site. At one point nearly 500 Confederate troops were stationed in and around Ocracoke and the fort. The Confederates abandoned and partially destroyed the fort in August 1861 after [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] victories on nearby [[Hatteras Island]]. Union forces razed it a month later on September 17, 1861. Beacon Island and the fort subsided beneath the waves of the inlet after the 1933 hurricanes that struck the area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fort Ocracoke |url=https://www.ocracokenavigator.com/fort-ocracoke/ |website=Ocracoke Navigator |date=17 December 2014 |access-date=25 April 2016}}</ref> The remnants of Fort Ocracoke were relocated and identified in 1998 by the Surface Interval Diving Company.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fort Ocracoke |url=https://www.sidco.org/fort-ocracoke |website=SIDCO |access-date=22 November 2019}}</ref>
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=== Energy modernization project ===
In May 2021, Ocracoke was one of 11 communities (along with nearby [[Nags Head, North Carolina]]) chosen by the [[United States Department of Energy]] to participate in the [[Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project]], a program to provide federal aid for remote communities to modernize their electric infrastructure and resiliency through natural disasters and outages. Ocracoke's grant is used to analyze the possibility of electrifying its ferry fleet.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=DOE to Support 11 Remote and Island Communities Transitioning to Resilient Clean Energy Solutions |url=https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-support-11-remote-and-island-communities-transitioning-resilient-clean-energy |access-date=2021-05-06 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Q&A With Jordan Burns: A Community-Driven Approach to Energy Resilience |url=https://www.nrel.gov/news/program/2022/qa-jordan-burns-community-driven-approach-to-energy-resilience.html |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=www.nrel.gov |language=en}}</ref> An electrified ferry fleet would increase hurricane evacuation access while decreasing reliance on fossil fuels.<ref name=":1" />