The Greater Hyde County Chamber of Commerce wants you to have a great time while you are in the area. Below are some recommendations for you to plan into your next trip to Hyde County.
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We would like to thank Sunny Day Guide for the use of the information found in our Things to Do section. They are the publishers of our very informative Visitor's Guide.
Ocracoke Island - #1 Beach in America
When you visit Ocracoke Island, be sure to take time to reflect on all that makes this place so special to those of us who live here. Discover the beauty of Ocracoke Island on North Carolina’s historic Outer Banks. Infamous beach aficionado Stephen Leatherman (aka “Dr. Beach”) did in 2007 and named the remote island the number 1 beach in America. Conde Naste Traveler mag-azine followed suit and recognized tiny Ocracoke as the number 5 beach in the world!
The pristine unspoiled seaside beaches stretch along 16 miles of the island. Owned by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and maintained by the National Park Service, this pristine environment provides the perfect summer venue for swimming, surf fishing, surfing and boat-ing. Because of its proximity to the Gulf Stream, Ocracoke’s temperate weather also welcomes vacationers the rest of the year. World-class shelling, biking, bird-watching and kayaking are just a few of the activities that await “off-season” visitors.
The village of Ocracoke at the south-ern tip of the island is accessible only by private plane, private boat, or one of the state-run ferries from Cedar Island, Swan Quarter, and Hatteras Village. These limited modes of access have helped pre-serve the prominent Old English-inspired brogue of the local residents and the old-time island way of life.
Until the 1950s, the island’s residents lived in relative isolation. Their contact with the mainland was from daily trips by the mail boat. They made their living from fishing and hunting and as guides. Ocracoke had long been the destination of wealthy hunters and fishermen and of mainland families who could afford to summer in the cool breezes that the island offered, but it was not until Highway 12 was paved and scheduled ferry service was offered in 1957 that Ocracoke Island was truly discovered.
For a brief period during World War II, the Coast Guard station was trans-formed into a US Navy base. Beaches were closed, fishing was curtailed, homes and businesses were requisitioned, and the island’s life style was interrupted. The war was witnessed firsthand offshore where “Torpedo Junction” claimed more than 60 ships during the first 6 months of 1942. The British Cemetery on Ocracoke serves as a reminder of this period and of the generos-ity of Ocracoke people. It holds the bodies of four young British soldiers who lost their lives when the HMC Bedfordshire was torpedoed by a German submarine off the Ocracoke coast. Island residents found and buried the bodies on donated land and maintained the graves.
The history of Ocracoke is rich in sea lore. Blackbeard, the infamous pirate who plundered the Carolina coast in the early 1700s, fought his last battle just off the island at Teach’s Hole, where he lost his head. Legend hints that his vast treasure may still be buried here. Ocracoke Inlet served as the main waterway at one time, forming port towns on Ocracoke and Portsmouth islands and spurring the growth of these coastal villages. Portsmouth Village, now a ghost town, is maintained by the Cape Lookout Park Service and can be toured. The oldest working lighthouse in North Carolina and one of the oldest on the East Coast has stood tall on Ocracoke since 1823, guiding ships along the treacherous Graveyard of the Atlantic.
The small community of 800 year-round residents works together to preserve the island’s culture and his-tory. Learn about some of the first families of Ocracoke, its place in the Civil and World Wars, and island traditions at the Ocracoke Preservation Museum near the ferry docks. Local volunteers aid the National Park Service in the care of the famous Banker Ponies that once roamed free and numbered near 200. Today, the descendants are penned on a large track just off Highway 12 and can be observed in their natural habitat.
Over the years, Ocracoke has been transformed from an isolated fishing village into the perfect vacation spot. While enjoying the simplicity of island life at the speed of a stroll, visitors can sample gourmet food and local shops featuring distinctive retail, fine art, exquisite jewelry, and island-inspired clothing. Lodging accommodations range from simply appointed motels and homey bed and breakfasts to refined inns and luxurious suites. Rental cot-tages are also a popular choice for families and large groups. Reasonable rentals of bikes, boats, fishing gear, and beach gear are plentiful. Sunset cruises, musical performances, lectures, quilting, and even ghost walks are offered.
Come and experience island time at any time of the year.
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Mattamuskeet Lodge
The imposing structure known today as Mattamuskeet Lodge was built in 1915-1916 by the Mattamuskeet Drainage District as a steam-powered pumping plant to afford drainage to 100,000 acres of rich farmland, including the bed of NC’s largest natural lake, Lake Mattamuskeet. Huge pumps moved 1,200,000 gallons of water per minute, making the plant the largest capacity pumping station in the world at the time.
 Three private corporations successively owned the lake from 1911-1934. The first two were land development com-panies interested in making a profit by draining the lake and selling the rich bed as family farms and residential lots, much as had been successfully done in Holland. The community that developed around the pumping plant was named “New Holland.”
The third corporation aban-doned the real estate plan and turned the lake bed into a com-mercial farm. Approximately 13,000 acres of the rich lake bed produced record yields of soybeans, corn, wheat, and a variety of truck crops. The farm operated 51 steel-wheeled and crawler tractors, a fleet of farm trucks, and its own 35-mile freight railway called the New Holland, Higginsport, and Mt. Vernon Railroad.
In 1932, the drainage district was abandoned and the lake property sold to the U.S. government to create Mattamuskeet Migratory Bird Refuge. Between 1935-1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps transformed the farming operation into the refuge, and converted the old pumping sta-tion into a rustic hunting resort called Mattamuskeet Lodge.
The Lodge opened to the public on Nov. 26, 1937 and operated until 1974. During those years, Lake Mattamuskeet was acclaimed as the “Canada Goose Hunting Capital of the World.” It was widely regarded as the premier hunting spot on the Atlantic Flyway. The migrating flocks of Canada geese declined in the late 1960s, and the Fish and Wildlife Service closed the Lodge to the public in 1974. The build-ing deteriorated for the next 20 years. In 1980, Mattamuskeet Lodge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, temporarily saving the building from destruction.
Since 1991, several nonprofit organizations have worked together to save the Lodge and preserve its place in the annals of American history. It was closed to the public in November 2000 due to struc-tural safety concerns. In 2006, the Federal Government trans-ferred this historic structure to the State of NC. The NC Wildlife Resources Commission will be responsible for repairing and maintaining the Lodge.
The Mattamuskeet Lodge restoration is well underway. The prime intent of this project is to conserve and preserve every possible fiber of the origi-nal building fabric and to honor the original design and historic building experience as much as possible. Work is expected to continue throughout 2009 with an expected opening by January of 2010.
For more information on this piece of America’s history, visit the following web sites:
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