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Village Craftsmen 
 170
Howard Street
PO Box
248
Ocracoke Island,
NC 27960
252-928-5541
info@villagecraftsmen.com
Ocracoke Newsletter
October 21, 2010
Ocracoke Cisterns
Prior to June of 1977 everyone living on Ocracoke Island relied on
rainstorms and runoff from the roof for fresh drinking water.
According to oral tradition the first water storage containers were
simply wooden barrels, undoubtedly gathered from sailing vessels or
local stores after they had emptied them of vinegar, rum, or molasses,
popular fare brought to the island from the Caribbean and other faraway
places.
Rainwater, a scarce commodity especially during dry spells, was used
only for drinking and cooking.
In times of prolonged drought islanders shared as they were able. Young
children would be sent to a relative's house (perhaps a single aunt or
uncle with a large cistern) once a day carrying a bucket or pot. Those
two or three gallons of drinking water would have to last a family the
entire day.
Ground water, which typically was the color of tea, and had an odor,
was used for all other endeavors, including washing and bathing, and to
water gardens and animals. Ground water was available by
simply
digging primitive wells. Just a few feet below the surface lies an
island-wide fresh water lens that is relatively easy to access. The
color and odor mostly come from tree roots. Sometimes barrels would be
stacked two high in the well to keep the sides from caving in.
Alternatively, wooden planks would occasionally be used to
line the
well. Water was simply retrieved by tying a rope to a bucket and
lowering it into the shallow well.
An Old
Well Uncovered on Hatteras Island after the 1944 Hurricane:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
One of the oldest maps of Ocracoke shows a
well on Ocracoke Island. Presumably pirates and early settlers made
use of this and other wells. (Note location of well immediately above
"Ocacock" on map.)
Inset in
"A New and Correct Map of the Province of North Carolina" by Edward
Moseley, 1733:
(Click on map to view larger image.)
To this day a low, round brick well,
probably constructed in the nineteenth century, still stands at
Springer's Point as a reminder of a bygone era.
Well at
Springer's Point:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
In later years "well points" were driven about 8 or 10 feet into the
sand, and attached to a "pitcher pump." As mentioned above,
ground water was used to
water the garden and to provide water for animals, as well as for
bathing.
An Island
Ground Water Pitcher Pump:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
During the later colonial period, and into the early twentieth
century, more substantial wooden water troughs were used to
store
rainwater. Typically 12'-15' long, 4'-5' wide, and 2'-3'
deep,
they were constructed of wide, thick planks of rough cut cypress or
juniper. The seams were caulked with tar to prevent leakage.
Eventually large round wooden cisterns held together by iron bands
replaced
barrels and troughs. Some had flat wooden tops; others had more
elaborate conical roofs...but the vertical planks were cut much like
barrel staves. Oral tradition suggests that many of these cisterns were
purchased from mail order houses as kits, and assembled in place.
A
Flat-topped Wooden Cistern:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Ocracoke
Conical-topped Cistern (dismantled in the 1970s):
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Conical-topped
Cistern Beside Schoolhouse on Portsmouth Island:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Still later, several varieties of brick cisterns became popular. James
(Mr. Jim) Garrish and Thad Gaskins are remembered for building brick
cisterns around
the village. Some were plastered with cement; others were simply
painted (typically white, or to match the color of the house trim).
Many brick cisterns were round with flat, wooden tops. Others
had
domed tops. A few were built like cubes.
Flat-topped
Brick & Cement Cistern (with Pitcher Pump):
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Large
Cistern that Supplied the Navy Base in WWII:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
A Brick
& Stucco Cistern on Howard Street:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Round Top
Cistern with Hatch & Pitcher Pump:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Cubicle
Cistern "Down Point":
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Still other cisterns were rectangular with vaulted tops. At least
one, now long gone, was shaped like a squatty soda bottle.
Domed and vaulted tops were constructed by first laying planking across
the open top, then piling sand upon the planking, and molding it to the
desired shape. After the bricks were laid on top of the sand, and had
dried sufficiently, the planking and sand were removed from below by
crawling through a man-sized hatch into the cistern. The hatch was
later used to lower buckets into the water, and as access when
the
cistern needed to be cleaned (usually once a year, in the spring).
An Old
Brick, Vaulted Top Cistern:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Brick,
Vaulted Top Cistern on Howard Street:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Painted,
Vaulted Top Cistern on Howard Street:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
To prevent leaves, bugs, and other debris from entering the cisten most
islanders covered the inlet hole with screen wire. But nothing could
prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs in the drinking water. Tapping on
the sides of a bucket of water would cause most of the larvae
("wigglers" to islanders) to settle to the bottom. Pouring water
through cheese cloth was a more reliable method of eliminating the
larvae (at least the majority of them).
Many of the cisterns had a pitcher pump installed on top of the
structure, as well as one in the kitchen. It was not uncommon to leave
a tin cup, ladle (sometimes made from half of a coconut shell [they
freqently washed up on the beach] attached to a wooden handle), or a
large conch shell nearby as a dipper. Ocracokers always referred to a
conch with the opening on the left side as a "right handed" conch
(shell books call these "left handed" conchs) because they could be
easily grasped by the right hand for this purpose.
By the 1950s large rectangular cisterns were being constructed of
concrete blocks, with reinforced concrete tops.
Cinder
Block Cistern used as a Deck:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
It was immediatly
apparent that these cisterns would serve well as porches, especially if
they were built against the house and outfitted with posts and a
roof. For more than twenty years this was the most popular
type
of cistern.
Cinder
Block Cistern with Screened Porch Above:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Finally, in 1977, Ocracoke got a municipal water system. Nearly
everyone who was eligible signed up, and cistern water was reserved for
watering gardens and washing cars. However, because water mains were
not extended to all outlying areas new construction there still relied
on cisterns. By the last quarter of the twentieth century fiberglass
tanks had replaced concrete cisterns.
Modern,
Fiberglass Cistern in Oyster Creek Development:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
Ocracoke's water plant draws from three deep wells (620 - 640 feet
deep) that tap into the Castle Hayne aquifer. At this writing the
village has more than 1100 meters. The plant can produce more than
500,000 gallons of potable water daily, and can store 400,000 gallons
in ground tanks, and 150,000 gallons in the elevated tank.
Ocracoke
Water Tower:
(Click on photo to view larger image.)
In 2010 the Ocracoke Sanitary District, the administrator of the
sophisticated reverse osmosis municipal system, announced plans to
upgrade and expand the facility.
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