Description
Silver Lake Sentinel Ocracoke is an ink drawing with watercolor highlights by Janet francoeur. Ocracoke is a beautiful island off the North Carolina Coast. The name is derived from the Woccon tribe of Native Americans, who lived in the mainland tidewater and established fishing and hunting outposts on the island. The inlet, the island and the village now all carry the name Ocracoke, which, incidentally, is pronounced like the vegetable and the soft drink. One of the expeditions Sir Walter Raleigh sponsored between 1584 and 1587 landed here, and in 1715, a little more than a century after Jamestown was settled, pilots were placed on the island.
The isolated inlet was prone to smuggling. One man in particular was comfortable navigating the waters of Pamlico Sound. In 1718 Edward Teach, or Blackbeard, was caught and beheaded as he and his ship hid in waters behind the island. After the pirate’s death, people were more willing to settle here. By the time of the first census in 1790, 135 whites, two free persons of color and 31 slaves lived on Ocracoke, NC. Today the permanent population is approximately 800.
The image measures 5 x 8 1/2. Signed by the artist.
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