There’s not a lot to do in Ocracoke in winter when the whole place shuts down. Going for a walk is one option and in this town there is only one of everything. One mechanic, one medical facility…
…one fire station but with no sleeping quarters obviously!
One grocery store:
…with a peculiarly low ceiling but stocked with anything you’d want from radiator coolant to vodka to sun chips.
And one well known walking trail, called Springer’s Point.
The latest land purchase made in 2021 added nine acres to the preserve which now totals 131 acres and that is a fair sized parcel on an island in a village that amounts to only 775 acres outside the National Park.
I couldn’t figure out on line where it got it’s name but Springer’s Point is famous for one thing and that is pirates, namely Blackbeard. There is a pool of deep water named for him between the point and the channel and it is said to have been Edward Teach’s preferred anchorage. Indeed history claims there was a pirate gathering right here on the beach when a whole bunch of them anchored out for a barbecue just like a modern sailing club outing. A month later in November 1718 Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy attacked Teach’s ship and a member of his crew beheaded the pirate in the hand to hand battle that followed. In case you were wondering that doesn’t happen very often in modern sailing club outings.
As you might imagine with that history behind it Springer’s Point has generated numerous ghost stories of a white shirted figure haunting the woods. Luckily for us we are law abiding and the trails are open only during daylight hours so we were spared any wild imaginings.
It is a pretty spot with several trails wandering through the woods to the beach, all ghost-free in daylight.
The place is absolutely bursting with useful signage and information about the ecology and botany of the woods.
Judging by the repetition of the signage there is a tendency by the lawless to ride bicycles into the preserve and let dogs run off leash.
We did neither not least because I fear rule breaking will end up banning dogs altogether from these lovely places. Also I dislike being told off for breaking perfectly reasonable rules.
We did meet some other people who apparently did not share our sentiments. As soon as they saw us they turned away and walked the beach throwing a ball for their rather raucous dog. Rusty sat and watched because he’s perfect.
I waved at their blank faces as we turned back into the woods and found ourselves at a well known landmark where a man and his horse were buried.
I found out who Sam Jones was in a 20 year old online article written by the local historian who operates the Village Craftsman store and wrote Jones’ story on this website:
Apparently Sam Jones made a fortune and discovered Ocracoke and spent summers here developing the village and preserving the woods at Springer’s Point. I believe we took Philip Howard’s ghost tour in 2013.
He was full of information about the island and made our Spring Break visit memorable. I looked him up online and he was among many who got flooded by Hurricane Dorian in 2019. That was “merely” a Category One storm and it wrecked a third of the housing stock on Ocracoke, about 400 homes.
Springer’s Point is a lovely walk.
We walked back to our rental home dodging the evening commute. You’d be surprised how many cars can suddenly pop up at once on these bucolic streets.
Happy Boxing Day everyone!
