{"nrhp_refnum":"77000110","name":"Ocracoke Light Station","other_names":["H5-0-1a","H5-0-1b"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SR 1326","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ocracoke","county":"Hyde County","state":"NC","lat":35.108917431000066,"lon":-75.98607598499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A lighthouse station on Ocracoke Island in the village of Ocracoke, Hyde County, North Carolina, built in 1823 on a two-acre plot. It has a brick conical tower, a keepers' quarters and several outbuildings, and was built by Noah Porter of Massachusetts.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that this was one of the first lighthouses authorized for North Carolina and is the oldest remaining functioning lighthouse structure on the state's coast. It marked hazardous Ocracoke Inlet, the main entry point for vessels bound for northern North Carolina. The station also served as a community gathering place during storms.","narrative":"Ocracoke Light Station occupies a two-acre lot inside the village of Ocracoke, enclosed by a white picket fence. Noah Porter of Massachusetts built the whitewashed brick tower and the keepers' dwelling in 1823-24. The tower rises 75 feet above sea level and is five feet thick at the base. Its Fresnel lens arrived in 1854, and electric bulbs replaced oil vapor lamps in 1938. The quarters grew from a one-story brick house to a two-story duplex with a 1928-29 frame addition. An oil house and other small outbuildings stand nearby. The station replaced earlier efforts, including a lighthouse on Shell Castle Island and a light vessel, that failed to guide ships into Ocracoke Inlet, which was the main entry for vessels bound for northern North Carolina. It is described as the oldest functioning lighthouse structure on the state's coast. Townspeople sheltered in the quarters during storms, and Coast Guardsmen kept watch from the tower in World War II.","period_of_significance":"1823 to Present","architect_builder":"Noah Porter (Builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The light remains in automatic operation under the U.S. Coast Guard. The quarters were transferred to the National Park Service in 1957 for use as ranger quarters. The form lists the condition as good and the original site.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:57.865562-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/7209/47720910/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/77000110.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000110/7d888f3872-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77000110/7d888f3872-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Henryhartley","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ocracoke_island_lighthouse_img_0478.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Henryhartley</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ocracoke_island_lighthouse_img_0478.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47720910","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocracoke_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4286368"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/hyde-county/ocracoke-light-station-77000110/"}