Hatteras Island

Last updated

Hatteras Island
Nickname: Croatoan Island
Cape hatteras 1989.jpg
Hatteras Island as seen in a satellite photo. North is to the upper left corner.
USA North Carolina location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Hatteras Island
Geography
Location Atlantic Ocean, Pamlico Sound
Area85.56 km2 (33.03 sq mi)
Length68 km (42.3 mi)

Hatteras Island (historically Croatoan Island, sometimes referred to as Hatorask [1] ) is a barrier island located off the North Carolina coast. Dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound, it runs parallel to the coast, forming a bend at Cape Hatteras. It is part of North Carolina's Outer Banks and includes the communities of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras. It contains the largest part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Prior to European settlement the island was inhabited by Croatoan Native Americans.

Contents

The island has a land area of 85.56 km2 (33.03 sq mi) and a population of 4,322, as of the 2010 census. [2] It lies in parts of Kinnakeet Township and Hatteras Township in Dare County, and Ocracoke Township in Hyde County. Hatteras Island is known for sport fishing, surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding, and Hatteras Village is known as the "Blue Marlin Capital of the World". [3]

The island is one of the longest in the contiguous United States, measuring 42 miles (68 km) along a straight line from end to end, or roughly 50 miles (80 km) along the curve of the land. [3] The island, because of its function as a barrier island and its low lying profile, has experienced significant coastal erosion because of sea level rise. [4] [5] Some sections have significantly eroded already, with portions of Hatteras Island at 25% of its original width as of 2014. [5]

History

Pre-Columbian era

The Croatoan Indians were the first human inhabitants of Hatteras Island. [6] The Croatoans were composed of two groups: the Hatterask and the Kinnakeet. As Native Americans were often named by either their main town, their language, or by what they called themselves, Kinnakeet referred to an area on Croatoan Island (modern day Avon) as did Hatterask (modern day Frisco, not modern day Hatteras village). [7] The central village was called Croatoan (council town, which is modern day Buxton), which is why the Native Americans and the Island were referred to by the English as Croatoans from Croatoan. [7]

Colonial era

The story of the missing colony of Roanoke began when John White finally returned to Roanoke on a fifth voyage to the colony, a much-delayed re-supply mission arriving in 1590. At that time, the settlement was found abandoned. The only clues to the colonists' whereabouts were the letters "CRO" carved into the bark of a nearby tree and the word "Croatoan" found carved into the palisade of the fort. [8] It is logical that the colonists left on Roanoke had gone back to Croatoan, as they had already lived there and had had a strong relationship with the natives, some of whom had visited England.

John White, who made maps showing both Croatoan and Roanoke, wrote in 1590:

I greatly joyed that I had safely found a certain token of their safe being at Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was born, and the savages of the island our friends. [9]

White had instructed them that if anything happened to them, they should carve a Maltese cross on a tree nearby, indicating that their disappearance had been forced. As there was no cross, White took this to mean they had moved to "Croatoan Island" (now known as Hatteras Island). Upon finding the message of CROATOAN carved on the palisade, White also wrote:

The next morning it was agreed by the captain and myself, with the master and others to weigh anchor and go for the place at Croatoan where our planters were for that then the wind was good for that place. [10]

However, he was unable to conduct a search, as a massive storm was brewing and his men refused to go any further. The next day, they instead left the area without looking further for the colonists. [11]

Communities

While there are no incorporated places on Hatteras, there are several resort communities along the length of the island. From north to south these are:

Law enforcement

As there are no incorporated places on Hatteras, the island is patrolled primarily by the Dare County Sheriff's Office for general law enforcement, and the North Carolina Highway Patrol for traffic enforcement. Additionally, special subject matter law enforcement is conducted by the North Carolina Wildlife Enforcement and the North Carolina Marine Patrol. On federal lands, patrols are also conducted by the US National Park Service the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Marine Patrol, along with US Coast Guard.

The Island has one Coast Guard station. The Station is located adjacent to the ferry terminal. The station has two 47 foot Motor Lifeboats and other small craft.

Additionally, the Island has a small rescue squad that helps rescue people from the water, and help with marine safety. The rescues squad headquarters are in Buxton, North Carolina

Accessibility

The Old Bonner Bridge Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, non-aerial.jpg
The Old Bonner Bridge

For many years, the only ways to reach Hatteras Island was by ferry and footpath. [12]

In November 1963, the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge was completed, connecting Hatteras Island to the northern Outer Banks. [12] The bridge's namesake, Herbert Covington Bonner, was a Democratic congressman who represented the area between 1940 and 1965. [13] The $4 million to build the bridge was financed by the State of North Carolina, the U.S. Commerce Department, and the National Park Service. [13]

From the south, Hatteras is reached by way of a 40-minute ride on the Ocracoke-Hatteras ferry. [12] Presently there is no direct route linking Hatteras Island to the Hyde County mainland, resulting in a 2-3 hour commute around the Pamlico Sound.

During a storm on October 26, 1990, a fishing dredge broke loose from its mooring and destroyed part of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, cutting Hatteras Island's only bridge to the north. [14] The bridge was repaired by February 1991. [14]

In 2011, Hurricane Irene destroyed part of Highway 12 between Nags Head and Rodanthe. [12] Until the construction of a temporary bridge in October 2011, the only way of accessing Hatteras Island was by ferry. [15]

In March 2016, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) began construction of a bridge to replace the Bonner Bridge. [16] The replacement bridge, named after Senator Marc Basnight, was opened in February 2019. [17]

Education

Residents are zoned to Dare County Schools. Zoned schools are Cape Hatteras Elementary School and Cape Hatteras Secondary School. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roanoke Island</span> Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States

Roanoke Island is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of English colonization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dare County, North Carolina</span> County in North Carolina, United States

Dare County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,915. Its county seat is Manteo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Hatteras</span> Cape on the shoreline of Hatteras Island, North Carolina, United States

Cape Hatteras is a cape located at a pronounced bend in Hatteras Island, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avon, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States

Avon is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Dare County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, it had a permanent population of 776.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodanthe, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States

Rodanthe is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 213. Rodanthe, along with Waves and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico. Rodanthe includes the original Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station, decommissioned in 1954, but now a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waves, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States

Waves is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. It is on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 134. Waves, along with Rodanthe and Salvo, are part of the settlement of Chicamacomico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvo, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States

Salvo is a census-designated place located in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on Hatteras Island, part of North Carolina's Outer Banks. As of the 2010 census, Salvo had a population of 229. Originally part of the settlement of Chicamacomico, Salvo was originally known as "Clarks" or "Clarksville."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatteras, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States of America

Hatteras is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, on the Outer Banks island of Hatteras, at its extreme southwestern tip. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 504. Immediately to the west of the village of Hatteras is Hatteras Inlet which separates Hatteras Island from the neighboring Ocracoke Island. North Carolina Highway 12 passes through the community linking it to Frisco to the east and Ocracoke to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buxton, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States of America

Buxton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Hatteras Island near Cape Hatteras. It is located in Dare County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,273. Located at the widest part of Hatteras Island, it is the largest community on Hatteras Island both in terms of area and population, and is home to the island's schools and other major public buildings and offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frisco, North Carolina</span> Census-designated place in North Carolina, United States of America

Frisco is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on the barrier island of Hatteras Island, between the villages of Buxton and Hatteras. It is located in Dare County, North Carolina, United States, and was previously named "Trent", or "Trent Woods", but received a new name with the coming of the post office in 1898. Most of the land is taken by houses available for rental during the summer months, and as such the community's population varies seasonally. As of the 2010 census, the permanent population of the community was 200. North Carolina Highway 12 serves as the primary road in Frisco and connects the community to others on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Covington Bonner</span> American politician

Herbert Covington Bonner was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1940 and 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Hatteras National Seashore</span>

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a United States national seashore which preserves the portion of the Outer Banks of North Carolina from Bodie Island to Ocracoke Island, stretching over 70 miles (110 km), and is managed by the National Park Service. Included within this section of barrier islands along N.C. 12, but outside the national seashore boundaries, are Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and several communities, such as Rodanthe, Buxton, and Ocracoke. Cape Hatteras is a combination of natural and cultural resources, and provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outer Banks</span> Barrier islands in North Carolina, U.S.

The Outer Banks are a 200 mi (320 km) string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separating Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound from the Atlantic Ocean. A major tourist destination, the Outer Banks are known for their wide expanse of open beachfront and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The seashore and surrounding ecosystem are important biodiversity zones, including beach grasses and shrubland that help maintain the form of the land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Carolina Highway 12</span> State highway in North Carolina, US

North Carolina Highway 12 (NC 12) is a 148.0-mile-long (238.2 km) primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina, linking the peninsulas and islands of the northern Outer Banks. Most sections of NC 12 are two lanes wide, and there are also two North Carolina Ferry System routes which maintain continuity of the route as it traverses the Outer Banks region. NC 12 is part of the Outer Banks Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway. The first NC 12 appeared on the 1924 North Carolina Official Map and at its greatest length ran from NC 30 in Pollocksville to NC 48 near Murfreesboro. Over time it was replaced by both U.S. Route 258 (US 258) and NC 58 and ceased to exist in 1958. The current NC 12 first appeared on the 1964 state highway map running from US 158 in Nags Head to Ocracoke. In 1976 NC 12 was extended to US 70 on the mainland and in 1987 was extended north to Corolla.

Oregon Inlet is an inlet along North Carolina's Outer Banks. It joins the Pamlico Sound with the Atlantic Ocean and separates Bodie Island from Pea Island, which are connected by the 2.8 mile Marc Basnight Bridge that spans the inlet. As one of the few access points to the ocean along this stretch of coast, Oregon Inlet is a major departure point for charter fishing trips, with a nearby harbor serving as the base for many large boats that travel miles out towards the Gulf Stream almost every day. The inlet is also the location of a U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboat station.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division is a branch of NCDOT that is responsible for the operation of over two dozen ferry services that transport passengers and vehicles to several islands along the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Dare County Board of Commissioners is the governing body of Dare County, North Carolina. It runs in the manner of a county commission. It has seven seats held by elected officials called County Commissioners. The Commissioners are elected at large in countywide elections and serve four-year staggered terms. The Board elects a chairman and vice-chair for a one-year term at its organizational meeting in December.

The Hatteras Histories and Mysteries Museum focuses on the possible fate of the inhabitants of the Roanoke Colony, who disappeared around 1587. Located in Buxton, North Carolina, the privately owned museum was opened in April 2010 by Scott Dawson, a historian and author of the 2009 book Croatoan: Birthplace of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Hatteras Secondary School</span>

Cape Hatteras Secondary School is a public middle and high school in Buxton, on Cape Hatteras in Dare County, North Carolina. It is a part of Dare County Schools. It serves grades 6 through 12. Its attendance boundary includes areas in the county on islands south of the Oregon Inlet Bridge. This includes the census-designated places of Buxton, Avon, Frisco, Hatteras, Rodanthe, Salvo, and Waves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative</span>

Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative (CHEC) is a utility cooperative that distributes electricity to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands in the Outer Banks region of the state of North Carolina. The electric cooperative was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Buxton.

References

  1. ↑ "The Roanoke Colonies". February 28, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Hatteras and Ocracoke gain in 2010 census with the greatest increase in Hispanics". Island Free Press. March 9, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hatteras Island - OuterBanks.com". www.outerbanks.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  4. ↑ "How the Outer Banks are Vanishing—and Leaving NC Defenseless Against Hurricanes". Carolina Political Review. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Peach, Sara (July 24, 2014). "Rising Seas: Will the Outer Banks Survive?". National Geographic. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019.
  6. ↑ Dunbar, Gary S. (1960). "The Hatteras Indians of North Carolina". Ethnohistory. 7 (4): 410–418. doi:10.2307/480877. JSTOR   480877.
  7. 1 2 Harrison, Molly (August 1, 2003). Exploring Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores. Globe Pequot Press. pp. 11–12. ISBN   978-0762726097.
  8. ↑ Stick, David (1983). Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America . University of North Carolina Press. pp.  209–210. ISBN   9780807815540.
  9. ↑ The Lost Colony.
  10. ↑ Croatoan Birth America.
  11. ↑ Kupperman, Karen Ordahl (January 25, 1984). Roanoke, The Abandoned Colony. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 130–133. ISBN   978-0-8476-7339-1 . Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  12. 1 2 3 4 McAllister, Bill (November 3, 1990). "With Bridge Out, Time Leaps Backward for Hatteras Island 'Bankers'". The Washington Post. p. A3. ProQuest   307317881.
  13. 1 2 "Bonner Bridge To Be Dedicated On Saturday". The Washington Post. April 26, 1964. p. B15. ProQuest   142278762.
  14. 1 2 "Hatteras Residents Hail Bridge Repair: North Carolina Span Had Been Out Since October Storm". The Washington Post. February 13, 1991. p. A7. ProQuest   140424275.
  15. ↑ Waggoner, Martha. "NC 12: A love-hate relationship with a road". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
  16. ↑ "NCDOT: Bonner Bridge Replacement". NCDOT. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Marc Basnight Bridge (Bonner Bridge Replacement) | HDR". www.hdrinc.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Attendance Zone Information". Dare County Schools . Retrieved April 12, 2021. Cape Hatteras Elementary School -- All areas South of the Oregon Inlet Bridge[...]Cape Hatteras Secondary School -- All areas South of the Oregon Inlet Bridge

35°24′30″N75°29′13″W / 35.40833°N 75.48694°W / 35.40833; -75.48694

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.