Outer Banks Scenic Byway
Ocracoke Museum & David Williams House, NC

A handsome “four-square” residence, built circa 1900, this building was owned by Ocracoke’s first chief of the U. S. Coast Guard and moved by the Ocracoke Preservation Society to this prominent location beside the harbor, ferry docks, and the National Seashore visitor center with the help of the National Park Service. Part house-museum and part exhibit space, the building illustrates island life in a variety of ways. Just visible behind the traditional picket fence is the rounded top of an above-ground cement cistern, a rare survivor illustrating what once was the only source of water for village residents. Behind the building is the 1934 fishing vessel Blanche, awaiting restoration beneath its outdoor shelter. The deep front porch still cools folks who like to visit there, today drawn to the society’s highly popular summer “front porch talks” given by village residents.