1938 Erosion Control

Hello! It is Philip here, back after more than two years! It's a long story -- about lots of things, including mostly how the Blogger "Post +" button disappeared, and how I finally located the obscure link that allowed me to make new posts! Anyway, I'm back, occasionally, not every day as in the past, but at least now and then. So, for today's post: 

I recently came across a December 1938 document, "Future Work Program and Plans for the Beach Erosion Control Project." This paper is about construction of erosion control dunes in Currituck, Dare, Hyde, and Cartaret counties. Most people are familiar with the row of dunes between NC12 and the ocean, although other "dykes" were created or planned for the sound side. 

The author of the paper writes that, "In carrying out erosion control work on Occracoke we have encountered some of the most difficult problem[s] of the entire project." There were two areas of primary concern: on the northeastern end of Ocraocke Island from Hatteras Inlet to about 2 1/2 miles southwest; and on the southwest end of the island. 

The paper goes on to report that, "The [low, sandy] flats on the west end of the island extend from the hammocks [near the present-day NPS campground]...to Ocracoke Inlet, a distance of 5 1/2 miles in length and approximately 3/4 mile in width. During very high Ocean tides the water flows over these flats in several places, and after high north winds the Sound waters flow over the flats to the Ocean. These tides generally cover the flats as a whole." 

The following 1883 US Coast Guard Chart illustrates this area called "The Plains." In case you missed it, you can read more about this issue in our February 2022 Newsletter, Sand Barriers.