Brief History of Hatteras Island
The history of Hatteras Island and Hatteras Village is amazing. I'm not even going to try to pretend that I can put all this historic information into a web page. Instead I'll just hit on a few things to tweak your interest and hopefully encourage you to visit this area and do a little "exploring" on your own.
Speaking of exploring, Hatteras Island was thick with the native live oak trees which made it originally a sort "repair station and a rest stop for the first European explorers." Live oaks produce an extremely hardy waterproof wood which is shaped perfectly for making and repairing the hulls of boats. Also the natural shape that the live oak trunk and branches form is an almost perfect V that is needed for the hull of a ship. Early world explorers had smaller scouting ships that would come to Hatteras Island and search out the best trees for making repairs on those larger expeditionary ships.
Although you can find a few live oak trees left on the Island, after those early exploration days most of them were cut down and removed from Hatteras Island during many years of lumbering operations. You can still see parts of an old wooden train trestle that ran the length of Hatteras Island on your way through the neighboring Pea Island.
The First Filling Station?
The earliest Europeans to live on Hatteras were most likely either ship repair people left behind or volunteers that wanted to give a try at living here. If they were left off during the summer or fall, the beautiful beach life gave them no understanding of the harsh conditions they were about to face. Although the summer and fall is unbelievably balmy and desirable, it tends to betray just how windy and bone chilling cold the winters and early springs can be on Hatteras Island. To make matteras worse most fish migrate south and there would have been a very limited source of meat and fresh water to last through the winter.
Surviving the area meant that the earliest inhabitants needed to also become extrenely proficient fishermen. With the help of the friendly Native Americans (Hatteras Indians) many of these earliest Europeans somehow hung on through the tough times and then flourished during the good times and slowly melded into their own unique southern coastal culture. The hardy nature of locals and their ocean going understanding made them perfect candidates for another occupation that was soon going to come into demand.
Dangerous Waters & Hatteras Lifesavers
The shallow waters of nearby Diamond Shoals and other shoals along the Hatteras coast were commonly referred to as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" because of the centuries long history of hundreds of shipwrecks. A trip to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras is a great way to get an insight into the dangers early Americans faced from the ocean. The lighthouse located near Oregon Inlet was named the Bodie Island Light. "Bodie" is an Old English word for "body" which identified the lighthouse for all the many bodies that would wash up in that area the area was for mariners. Does that give you an idea of how dangerous it was?
Hatteras Island eventually became the home of several lifesaving stations dedicated to saving seafarer's lives along the coast. I highly recommend a tour of the various stations that are still maintained on Hatteras Island to help share the rich history of these hardy locals and their descendants.
One of the most incredible books ever written that deals with the shipwecks in the area is titled "Graveyard of the Atlantic" by David Stick. This is a factual account, written in the pace of fiction, of hundreds of dramatic losses, heroic rescues, and violent adventures at the stormy meeting place of northern and southern winds and waters. There are parts of this book that will send chills up your spine! It is available on Amazon in Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback and Digital. I highly recommend adding this book to your collection to bring back memories of your visit to the Outer Banks.
Pirates Galore (Aargh Matey!)
Another group of hardy Hatteras locals that once lived here on Hatteras Island and on the Pamlico Sound decided to use their ocean going skills in an entirely different way! Some of the best navigators and seafarers decided to become plundering pirates. One of the most famous and feared pirates in US history was legendary Edward Teach who made his home in nearby Bath, NC. Teach used the waters around Hatteras and Ocracoke to become known and feared as the scoundrel Blackbeard who would light his beard before an attack to give the appearance his face was on fire. When you spend a little time researching Edward Teach you will be surprised to find out that he actually worked for the United States government for several years first doing his pirating for them as a privateer. It wasn't until he and his crew began plundering the wrong ships that Blackbird was then considered a serious problem that had to be dealt with. If you are interested in hearing a lot more about Blackbeard consider a stop at the Ocracoke National Park Service Shop located near the docks in Ocracoke Island where they have a nice collection of research materials and other Blackbeard memorabilia.
Wars on Hatteras Island!
Although there were no actual major battles fought right on Hatteras Island is not without having its own history of being involved in wartimes. During the Civil War, the Confederates constructed two forts east of the inlet: Fort Hatteras and Fort Clark. Both these forts were attacked and surrendered to the Federal forces in 1861 and are now just bare beach.
It is also possible that the citizens of Hatteras Island may have been the closest non-military United States participants during World War II. Hatteras Island residents were not allowed to burn their home's lights during the evenings because German U-boats that were patrolling just off the island would use the lights from the island to silhouette and torpedo the allied cargo ships. Few people are aware that some German spies were actually apprehended on Hatteras Island and eventually executed. Did you know that there was also a secret radar tower and radio station on the west side of Buxton that was critical to the war effort?