Ocracoke Lighthouse - Ocracoke Island Lighthouse - The Outer Banks of North Carolina - <div class="tiny">The Outer Banks of North Carolina® is a chain of barrier islands midway on the Atlantic Seaboard, 90 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia and 321 miles north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From Virginia, we're accessible by Highways 168 and 158 and in North Carolina by Highway 64. Surrounded by 900 square miles of water, we have the third largest estuary system in the world, wildlife refuges, maritime forests, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the highest sand dunes on the East Coast at Jockey's Ridge State Park.</div>

Ocracoke Lighthouse

Ocracoke Island Lighthouse

Located in the fishing village of Ocracoke on the island of Ocracoke, this is the oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina and is equipped with a fourth-order Fresnel lens.

The present structure is the third. In 1798, a 54-foot wooden tower was built on the Ocracoke Inlet entrance where Edward Teach, otherwise known as "Blackbeard the Pirate," lived at one time. The channel shifted, rendering the lighthouse ineffective. It was replaced by a light vessel in the inlet in 1820, but by 1822 this structure was also rendered useless by shifting sands, and Congress authorized the money to build the present tower which stands 75 feet tall. The lighthouse was cemented and whitewashed in 1868, giving it the appearance it has today.

Originally fueled by whale oil, it is now lit by automatic electric power and shines 14 miles out to sea.

Lighthouses

The Outer Banks of North Carolina

The Outer Banks of North Carolina® is a chain of barrier islands midway on the Atlantic Seaboard, 90 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia and 321 miles north of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From Virginia, we're accessible by Highways 168 and 158 and in North Carolina by Highway 64. Surrounded by 900 square miles of water, we have the third largest estuary system in the world, wildlife refuges, maritime forests, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the highest sand dunes on the East Coast at Jockey's Ridge State Park.