U.S. Coast Guard History Program

Station Ocracoke, Coast Guard Station #187

Coast Guard Station Ocracoke

Original At Ocracoke, N.C.,, on northwest tip of Ocracoke Island, 1/2 mile Location: north of Ocracoke Light; 35-06' 55"N x 75-59' 20"W Date of 1904 Conveyance: First station was built in 1904; second station was built during Station Built: World War II Fate: Still in operation -- see below

Remarks:

The current (2004) Coast Guard Station Ocracoke (small) is located on the southern end of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. The Station has a compliment of 1 boat crew and 1 First Class Boatswain Mate as the supervisor. The boat crew is assigned to the unit on a rotating basis from Station , it's parent unit. The station building is a modular structure constructed in the 1970s and is situated on one acre of land. The building contains berthing for 6 duty watchstanders, a galley, and a communications center.

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Station Ocracoke is a sub-unit and comes under the administrative and operational control of Station Hatteras Inlet.

As a multi-mission unit, Station Ocracoke conducts search and rescue, boating safety, law enforcement, and marine environmental protection operations. A boat crew is available 24 hours a day and responds to more than 100 calls for assistance annually. The station's Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes more than 1350 square nautical miles of Atlantic Ocean, one third of the , and half of Ocracoke Island. To cover this area and respond to calls for assistance in any type of weather, the station is equipped with a 44-ft Motor Life Boat, and a 21-ft Motor Life Inflatable. Station Ocracoke also maintains the grounds and upkeep of the famous British Cemetery on Ocracoke Island.

Keepers:

David Williams was appointed keeper on 23 MAY 1905 and was still serving in 1915.

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Photography:

Station Ocracoke, no date.

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Station Ocracoke, 1966.

Sources:

Station History File, CG Historian’s Office

Dennis L. Noble & Michael S. Raynes. “Register of the Stations and Keepers of the U.S. Life-Saving Service.” Unpublished manuscript, compiled circa 1977, CG Historian’s Office collection.

Ralph Shanks, Wick York & Lisa Woo Shanks. The U.S. Life-Saving Service: Heroes, Rescues and Architecture of the Early Coast Guard. Petaluma, CA: Costaño Books, 1996.

U.S. Treasury Department: Coast Guard. Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers and Cadets and Ships and Stations of the United States Coast Guard, July 1, 1941. Washington, DC: USGPO, 1941.

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