What do you think?
Rate this book
Ocracoke
First published in 1956, this popular classic tells the story of the small island of Ocracoke, certainly one of the loveliest pearls on the Outer Banks. Rich in history and legend, Ocracoke is a storyteller's dream. Goerch captures Ocracoke as it was more than fifty years ago, preserving it for the reader and vacationer of today. Many things have changed since his extended visits to the island, but many remain the same. The simple lifestyle, the spirit of the hardy islanders, the legends of pirates, storms, and shipwrecks, the charm and beauty of the unspoiled beaches.
- GenresNonfictionHistoryTravel
222 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 1, 2021
Ocracoke Island has always been a unique place, even within the context of North Carolina’s Outer Banks -- a region that is quite distinctive in its own right. There is no road bridge to Ocracoke; you must take a ferryboat to get there. It is where N.C. Route 12 ends and a uniquely tranquil, delightfully isolated way of life begins. And Carl Goerch, in his 1956 book Ocracoke, captures well a time when Ocracoke was even more tranquil, and even more isolated.
Goerch, a longtime editor and writer for newspapers like the New Bern Sun-Journal, was not a native North Carolinian – he was originally from Tarrytown, New York – but after relocating to the Tar Heel State, he applied himself so assiduously to the task of celebrating and promoting the natural and cultural riches of North Carolina that in 1971, the General Assembly at Raleigh officially designated him “Mr. North Carolina.” Ocracoke shows the qualities in Goerch’s writing that caused the NCGA to feel that he did such an effective job of representing the state.
Taking the reader through the process of reaching the island by boat and gathering first impressions of its distinct landscape and society, Goerch takes pride in pointing out how visiting Ocracoke is not like going to busier resort communities like Miami. “If you are the restless type,” he writes, “then I urge you to stay away from Ocracoke, because you won’t like it” (pp. 48-49). By contrast, however –
If you can be content doing absolutely nothing in the way of recreation or amusement, if you like to get up early in the morning and enjoy the restful atmosphere which is such an important part of life on Ocracoke, if you enjoy strolling aimlessly around, watching the leisurely activity on Silver Lake, if you like to dress simply and go barefooted without attracting any particular attention, if you appreciate good seafood, going bathing or fishing when the mood to do so makes it desirable, if you want to get just as far away as possible from all the hullabaloo, tenseness and excitement of modern living – if these things appeal to you then you’ll enjoy Ocracoke to the fullest extent. (pp. 49-50).
Goerch’s description of the relaxing qualities of life on Ocracoke Island remain valid today. Indeed, much has remained consistent on Ocracoke since Goerch wrote this book 60 years ago; for example, a visitor to Ocracoke can still hear the islanders’ unique speech patterns, with their musicality that recalls the England of Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare.
At the same time, much has changed since 1956. When writing about Ocracoke’s well-known wild ponies, for example, Goerch writes that, aside from a few times when the ponies are penned up to await potential purchasers, “the ponies are given their freedom and immediately scatter all over the island” (p. 104). That, of course, is no longer the case: North Carolina Route 12 goes right through what used to be prime pony territory, and it wouldn’t do to have ponies being struck by speeding cars. Accordingly, the ponies are now permanently penned up, under the protective and watchful eyes of rangers from the National Park Service. Such, I suppose, are the changes imposed by the passage of time.
One sees some of the 1950’s concern with what was then called “juvenile delinquency” in a chapter wherein Goerch opines that, while there may be some trouble with juvenile delinquency on the mainland, “There’s none of that on Ocracoke”, because “In many respects, the population is just one big family….If little Jimmy starts cutting up and developing traits that are not approved of, chances are that Uncle Luke, Aunt Martha, Cousin Louise or Grandpappy Garrish will spot him and make a report to his parents. That’s a mighty discouraging situation if you’re trying to make progress as a juvenile delinquent” (pp. 147-50). It all sounds delightfully quaint when one considers the worries that face young people and their elders in contemporary American life; but Goerch is right that a lot of the mainland’s problems at least feel farther away when one is on Ocracoke Island.
Goerch’s appreciation for the traditionalism of the island comes through in chapters like the one on “Religious Life,” in which he writes that “Ocracokers are fundamentalists in practically every respect. They accept their religion as it is set forth in the Bible, and it’s very seldom that you hear any discussion or argument about whether this or that should be taken literally or not. Remember the kind of religious faith that your grandfather and grandmother had? That’s the way the people of Ocracoke take their religion” (p. 198). All still true today – though, to be sure, as in other Southern resort communities, devout islanders have had to learn to accommodate the sensibilities of vacationers who may not share the islanders’ depth of religious devotion.
In a brief foreword, Goerch’s two daughters state that “this is not a travelogue but a love story about our father and Ocracoke”; they ask the reader not to focus on the differences between Ocracoke then and now, but rather “to see Ocracoke through his eyes and learn how things used to be….Read it and enjoy both him and his impressions of the island in the 1950s”.
Read in that spirit, Ocracoke provides a pleasant historical perspective on a unique American landscape. Published by John F. Blair, a Winston-Salem company that excels at publishing North Carolina regional material, Ocracoke is the proverbial next best thing to getting on the ferry at Hatteras Village and making the boat trip over to the island.
Goerch, a longtime editor and writer for newspapers like the New Bern Sun-Journal, was not a native North Carolinian – he was originally from Tarrytown, New York – but after relocating to the Tar Heel State, he applied himself so assiduously to the task of celebrating and promoting the natural and cultural riches of North Carolina that in 1971, the General Assembly at Raleigh officially designated him “Mr. North Carolina.” Ocracoke shows the qualities in Goerch’s writing that caused the NCGA to feel that he did such an effective job of representing the state.
Taking the reader through the process of reaching the island by boat and gathering first impressions of its distinct landscape and society, Goerch takes pride in pointing out how visiting Ocracoke is not like going to busier resort communities like Miami. “If you are the restless type,” he writes, “then I urge you to stay away from Ocracoke, because you won’t like it” (pp. 48-49). By contrast, however –
If you can be content doing absolutely nothing in the way of recreation or amusement, if you like to get up early in the morning and enjoy the restful atmosphere which is such an important part of life on Ocracoke, if you enjoy strolling aimlessly around, watching the leisurely activity on Silver Lake, if you like to dress simply and go barefooted without attracting any particular attention, if you appreciate good seafood, going bathing or fishing when the mood to do so makes it desirable, if you want to get just as far away as possible from all the hullabaloo, tenseness and excitement of modern living – if these things appeal to you then you’ll enjoy Ocracoke to the fullest extent. (pp. 49-50).
Goerch’s description of the relaxing qualities of life on Ocracoke Island remain valid today. Indeed, much has remained consistent on Ocracoke since Goerch wrote this book 60 years ago; for example, a visitor to Ocracoke can still hear the islanders’ unique speech patterns, with their musicality that recalls the England of Queen Elizabeth I and William Shakespeare.
At the same time, much has changed since 1956. When writing about Ocracoke’s well-known wild ponies, for example, Goerch writes that, aside from a few times when the ponies are penned up to await potential purchasers, “the ponies are given their freedom and immediately scatter all over the island” (p. 104). That, of course, is no longer the case: North Carolina Route 12 goes right through what used to be prime pony territory, and it wouldn’t do to have ponies being struck by speeding cars. Accordingly, the ponies are now permanently penned up, under the protective and watchful eyes of rangers from the National Park Service. Such, I suppose, are the changes imposed by the passage of time.
One sees some of the 1950’s concern with what was then called “juvenile delinquency” in a chapter wherein Goerch opines that, while there may be some trouble with juvenile delinquency on the mainland, “There’s none of that on Ocracoke”, because “In many respects, the population is just one big family….If little Jimmy starts cutting up and developing traits that are not approved of, chances are that Uncle Luke, Aunt Martha, Cousin Louise or Grandpappy Garrish will spot him and make a report to his parents. That’s a mighty discouraging situation if you’re trying to make progress as a juvenile delinquent” (pp. 147-50). It all sounds delightfully quaint when one considers the worries that face young people and their elders in contemporary American life; but Goerch is right that a lot of the mainland’s problems at least feel farther away when one is on Ocracoke Island.
Goerch’s appreciation for the traditionalism of the island comes through in chapters like the one on “Religious Life,” in which he writes that “Ocracokers are fundamentalists in practically every respect. They accept their religion as it is set forth in the Bible, and it’s very seldom that you hear any discussion or argument about whether this or that should be taken literally or not. Remember the kind of religious faith that your grandfather and grandmother had? That’s the way the people of Ocracoke take their religion” (p. 198). All still true today – though, to be sure, as in other Southern resort communities, devout islanders have had to learn to accommodate the sensibilities of vacationers who may not share the islanders’ depth of religious devotion.
In a brief foreword, Goerch’s two daughters state that “this is not a travelogue but a love story about our father and Ocracoke”; they ask the reader not to focus on the differences between Ocracoke then and now, but rather “to see Ocracoke through his eyes and learn how things used to be….Read it and enjoy both him and his impressions of the island in the 1950s”.
Read in that spirit, Ocracoke provides a pleasant historical perspective on a unique American landscape. Published by John F. Blair, a Winston-Salem company that excels at publishing North Carolina regional material, Ocracoke is the proverbial next best thing to getting on the ferry at Hatteras Village and making the boat trip over to the island.
August 18, 2023
Very fun book about an interesting North Carolina treasure.
February 11, 2026
My family has been visiting the Outer Banks since the 1960s and I have been to Ocracoke many times, most recently only a few months ago. I have a second home in Nags Head that I rent out during the season and one year a guest left several hardcopy books about North Carolina which are now part of the Exchange Library at my house. Ocracoke by Carl Goerch was one of them and I finally got around to reading it this year.
Goerch first went to Ocracoke in 1913 and this book was published a little more than 40 years later after many decades of visits. He obviously was quite taken with the island and its people. The book is written as a series of vignettes about various things the author saw or learned during his visits relating to the history, character and layout of Ocracoke. Each chapter ranges from maybe half a page up through 8 or 10 pages, with most being in the 3-4-page range. They cover how to get to the island and what you might see, what the people are like, island history and a little bit about nature. During the 40+ years covered in the book the island changed quite a bit although I'm sure the author would be gratified to know that, almost 70 years after his book was published, there is still no bridge to the island even though the modern ferries are probably much more efficient than those from 100 years ago.
The book is written in a very informal, jocular style that is easy to read, and the short chapters provide convenient stopping points if you are reading it while traveling or at bedtime. They give a very interesting view of island life and sometimes are quite humorous, although often kind of antiquated and might offend modern sensibilities. For example, in the chapter titled Land of Romance he talks about what a great place Ocracoke is for young women to find mates. The basic premise is that there are a lot of lonely men around and not a lot of other distractions plus less competition from potentially more attractive women. Goerch writes,
"Under these circumstances, thoughts of romance are bound to pervade a man's mind. If they don't, he just isn't human.
So what follows?
One of the men-maybe all of them for that matter-glances about him. Over in the corner of the porch he sees you sitting, demure and silent. It may be true that you are slightly cross-eyed, that you have a figure like a barn door and that you stammer when you talk, but that doesn't make any difference.
You're a woman.
You're the only unattached woman within range. He strolls over and says ...". OK, you get the idea.
Goerch finishes the chapter by writing,
"If you've got romance on your mind, here's the place where it really will bear fruit. If you can't make the grade at Ocracoke, you might just as well give up and resign yourself to being an old maid."
I found that chapter hilarious, both because of the way it was written and also with thinking about how such a chapter would be taken today. I'm pretty sure if a modern-day author wrote such a chapter they would be crucified, drawn and quartered, burned at the stake and labeled a male chauvinist pig, instead of someone just trying to describe the situation in a humorous way. It illustrates not just how much things have changed at Ocracoke, but how our whole culture has evolved over the past 70 years.
Another aspect I found interesting was in how he described race relations. During his time visiting Ocracoke, there appeared to be one black family living on the island. He described how that family was treated just like everyone else and how they went to the same church. He didn't talk about this at length or in the broader context of the segregation that was the norm in southern states during those times. He did mention that the black family always sat at the back of the church - by their own choice - and that they went up for communion after all the white people, again because that's what they preferred and not because they were required to do so. I suspect if he could have received a truthful answer from those residents, then sitting in the back and being last in line for communion were probably not what they preferred at all, but was what was expected and if they had tried to sit elsewhere or go to communion early then the story would have been different. I give him the benefit of doubt and assume Goerch may have been blissfully ignorant about the racism that occurred and found logical ways to rationalize what he saw in his mind.
For those who have never been to Ocracoke and for those of us who have been many times this book provides a treasure trove of information about the way things were and how they have changed. It is a product of its times and carries the perspective and biases of the white, well-off man who wrote it. While I found it mostly entertaining and informative, after a while the short, vignette-style chapters became tedious and started to become repetitious since they were not organized in any particular progression. But it is a quick and easy read and a fun way to experience the Ocracoke that was and in some ways still may be.
Goerch first went to Ocracoke in 1913 and this book was published a little more than 40 years later after many decades of visits. He obviously was quite taken with the island and its people. The book is written as a series of vignettes about various things the author saw or learned during his visits relating to the history, character and layout of Ocracoke. Each chapter ranges from maybe half a page up through 8 or 10 pages, with most being in the 3-4-page range. They cover how to get to the island and what you might see, what the people are like, island history and a little bit about nature. During the 40+ years covered in the book the island changed quite a bit although I'm sure the author would be gratified to know that, almost 70 years after his book was published, there is still no bridge to the island even though the modern ferries are probably much more efficient than those from 100 years ago.
The book is written in a very informal, jocular style that is easy to read, and the short chapters provide convenient stopping points if you are reading it while traveling or at bedtime. They give a very interesting view of island life and sometimes are quite humorous, although often kind of antiquated and might offend modern sensibilities. For example, in the chapter titled Land of Romance he talks about what a great place Ocracoke is for young women to find mates. The basic premise is that there are a lot of lonely men around and not a lot of other distractions plus less competition from potentially more attractive women. Goerch writes,
"Under these circumstances, thoughts of romance are bound to pervade a man's mind. If they don't, he just isn't human.
So what follows?
One of the men-maybe all of them for that matter-glances about him. Over in the corner of the porch he sees you sitting, demure and silent. It may be true that you are slightly cross-eyed, that you have a figure like a barn door and that you stammer when you talk, but that doesn't make any difference.
You're a woman.
You're the only unattached woman within range. He strolls over and says ...". OK, you get the idea.
Goerch finishes the chapter by writing,
"If you've got romance on your mind, here's the place where it really will bear fruit. If you can't make the grade at Ocracoke, you might just as well give up and resign yourself to being an old maid."
I found that chapter hilarious, both because of the way it was written and also with thinking about how such a chapter would be taken today. I'm pretty sure if a modern-day author wrote such a chapter they would be crucified, drawn and quartered, burned at the stake and labeled a male chauvinist pig, instead of someone just trying to describe the situation in a humorous way. It illustrates not just how much things have changed at Ocracoke, but how our whole culture has evolved over the past 70 years.
Another aspect I found interesting was in how he described race relations. During his time visiting Ocracoke, there appeared to be one black family living on the island. He described how that family was treated just like everyone else and how they went to the same church. He didn't talk about this at length or in the broader context of the segregation that was the norm in southern states during those times. He did mention that the black family always sat at the back of the church - by their own choice - and that they went up for communion after all the white people, again because that's what they preferred and not because they were required to do so. I suspect if he could have received a truthful answer from those residents, then sitting in the back and being last in line for communion were probably not what they preferred at all, but was what was expected and if they had tried to sit elsewhere or go to communion early then the story would have been different. I give him the benefit of doubt and assume Goerch may have been blissfully ignorant about the racism that occurred and found logical ways to rationalize what he saw in his mind.
For those who have never been to Ocracoke and for those of us who have been many times this book provides a treasure trove of information about the way things were and how they have changed. It is a product of its times and carries the perspective and biases of the white, well-off man who wrote it. While I found it mostly entertaining and informative, after a while the short, vignette-style chapters became tedious and started to become repetitious since they were not organized in any particular progression. But it is a quick and easy read and a fun way to experience the Ocracoke that was and in some ways still may be.
February 7, 2022
I bought this in a grocery store on Ocracoke for background research. Very deep background apparently as nothing in this book of yarns was very interesting. Ocracoke's a great place and filled with interesting people but this slapdash compilation of six inch ramblings doesn't do them service. Like listening to stories from a friend of your grandparent. You sit there and smile, hoping the end is near because your face hurts.
September 19, 2025
Colloquial writing for its time (1956) and a wonderful read, particularly for those who’ve spent time on the Outer Banks by a true son of North Carolina. Vivid descriptions of a time long past. Goerch’s tale of his encounter with a woman who never left the island in her lifetime is priceless. You can almost feel the breeze and smell the salt air with this one. A wonderful travelogue for anyone desiring a pleasant read.
October 23, 2016
50 States and at least 50 Authors 2016 Reading Challenge. NORTH CAROLINA.
This book definitely has the tone of the 1950's. It reminds me a bit of Eagles Mere of 1940's and 1950's (small town, somewhat isolated, lost in time). Of course, things have changed since then but this is a nice look back at what we have lost.
This book definitely has the tone of the 1950's. It reminds me a bit of Eagles Mere of 1940's and 1950's (small town, somewhat isolated, lost in time). Of course, things have changed since then but this is a nice look back at what we have lost.
December 7, 2017
Good read
Pretty informative, a little slow in my opinion as far as story telling goes, but it was overall an enjoyable read.
Pretty informative, a little slow in my opinion as far as story telling goes, but it was overall an enjoyable read.
November 15, 2013
This book was written over 50 years ago and tells all about how Ocracoke was back then. The author covers everything, such as where the island is, how it was named, transportation, the people, buildings, fishing, church, storms, shipwrecks, legends, the Coast Guard, etc. I could go on because there are about 60 short chapters and each chapter covers a different topic. I liked the book and it has lots of nice illustrations.
July 25, 2011
Originally published in 1956, Carl Goerch's "Ocracoke" is a fun, light-hearted look back at the Outer Banks community of Ocracoke Island, N.C., in an earlier time. A collection of brief, humorous anecdotes that emphasize the island's isolation and its distinctive culture, with hand-drawn illustrations that complement well the nostalgic spirit of the book.
June 24, 2013
Picked up this gem of a book at Buxton Village Books on my way to Ocracoke Island. While the island isn't the way it was when this was first written, it is a wonderful book on what the island used to be like in the late 50's, early 60's.
Read
January 25, 2016This book as probably left behind in NYC.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews