Ocracoke Light was built in Hyde County, on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina in 1823 by Massachusetts builder Noah Porter. The lighthouse stands 75 feet (23 m) tall. Its diameter narrows from 25 feet (8 m) at the base to 12 feet (3.7 m) at its peak.
In 1864, Confederate troops dismantled the fourth-order Fresnel Lens, but Union forces later restored it. Ocracoke Light is the oldest operating light station in North Carolina. The lighthouse was automated in 1955. Photo by Carol Highsmith.