Monday, January 13, 2014

Parking Area

I came across this photo a while ago. It was taken in the late 1950s or the early 1960s. This is one of the Ocracoke parking areas for access to the beach. In those days they were paved with WWII "landing mats."













I have written about landing mats in previous posts. But I thought our readers would enjoy seeing the mats in the ways they were actually used. There is more information here: http://villagecraftsmen.blogspot.com/2013/07/marsden-mats.html.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a 1921 letter written by a former slave, Harrison Williams, to Ocracoke native, Martha Ann Howard Wahab. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news112113.htm.
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:21 AM

    Phillip,
    Do you know where that parking are would be in reference to today's landmarks? It is always cool to see the historic views of the island and compare to what it looks like today.

    Chris

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    Replies
    1. Philip8:31 AM

      I think this photo was taken where the airport ramp is today, but I'm not sure.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous9:42 AM

    Thanks Philip,
    I am always surprised at the lack of dunes and trees in a lot of the old photos of the island. What changed to allow for the build up of dunes on the beach and the growth of trees in the village?

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    Replies
    1. Philip9:56 AM

      There have always been more trees in the village area, especially old growth live oaks and cedars, although that area has grown up also after low areas were filled in over the years.

      The area from the edge of the village to the area of the NPS campground is called the Plains because it was just a low tidal flat with virtually no vegetation. When Hwy 12 was built in 1957 the Park Service & the State created the continuous row of artificial dunes between the road and the ocean (to protect the highway), by erecting wooden "sand fences," (often one on top of another), then planting sea oats and other dune grasses to stabilize the man-made dunes that you see today.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous11:20 AM

    Thanks for the answer. Your blog is as always enlightening. Every time we go out to the island, I notice something you mentioned since I was last there that I had never known or noticed before. It is always a pleasure.

    Chris

    ReplyDelete

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