Moyock is where it’s happening in Currituck County

Currituck County is a rare bird. It is one of just a few North Carolina counties without an incorporated municipality. The county seat is the village of Currituck, which has fewer than 800 residents. 

The largest community in Currituck is Moyock with a current population of more than 4,200. “It is the largest and northernmost township in the county,” reported Larry Lombardi, former economic developer for the county. “Moyock sits snug along the border with the Commonwealth of Virginia.” 

It’s pronounced “moe-yock,” not “moy-yock.”

 

The Moyock community was formed in the late 1600s. “Easy access to waterways helped secure Moyock’s reputation as a busy port for commerce,” wrote Lombardi, who recently retired from his post. 

In 1580 or thereabouts, the first Currituck Inlet opened. It was directly across from Knotts Island at what is now Carova. When one closes, a new inlet often opens. This was the case when New Currituck Inlet was formed a few miles south during a violent storm 1713. 

As late as 1786, records indicate that some 240 ships were docked at the port in Moyock. 

“Early fortunes were made by exporting shingles made from cypress trees in the nearby Great Dismal Swamp. For decades, the production and shipping of cedar shingles was so robust that the area was widely known as ‘Shingle Landing,’” Lombardi said. 

“Moyock” is a native Algonquin tribal word that means “place of the oak on the trail.” It became the locality’s official name once the post office opened in 1857, Lombardi said.

 

Here are some Moyock Elementary School students on the playground.

 

Moyock Middle School is home of the Surf Dogs.

Moyock may seem quite far removed from North Carolina’s population centers, but it’s actually “right next door” to the huge and sprawling Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. 

“So, residential developers have been hammering away in Moyock,” Lombardi said. This is evidenced by the fact that Currituck County ranks as one of North Carolina’s most rapidly growing counties. 

A landscape game-changer is Currituck Station. It’s a mixed-use plan, which is intended to bring residential, commercial, cultural, institutional and entertainment projects to the area. It envelopes 3,000 acres along N.C. Route 168, known locally as Caratoke Highway in Moyock. 

Part of the proposed plan includes a ‘Center Station,’ a section to become Moyock’s (and Currituck County’s) first “downtown” with sidewalks, shops and public spaces, Lombardi said. 

Lost in the Moyock development boom is Dog Track Speedway. It was home to the Cavalier Kennel Club, which brought greyhound dog racing to Moyock in the 1930s. Dogs raced and crowds gambled. This activity was especially appealing to thousands of Navy servicemen who were stationed in nearby Norfolk. 

North Carolina enacted an “anti-dog racing” law in 1954, and the track shut it down. Almost immediately, NASCAR stepped in to put the quarter-mile, oval dirt track to good use. In 1962, the track was paved and lengthened to a third of a mile. 

Driver Ned Jarrett of Camden, S.C., won the Tidewater Grand National 300 in 1965. (It was 300 laps around the track, almost 100 miles.) Jarrett averaged about 68 miles per hour.

 

United Press International reported: “Jarrett pocketed $1,111 first place money, after fan W.A. Maynard of Norfolk, Va., donated $111…so Jarret could finish the season $1 ahead of Fred Lorenzen of Elmhurst, Ill.” 

Jared snared $77,966 in prize money for the 1965 NASCAR racing season. 

Today, there are good private sector jobs in Moyock, offered by Constellis. Its “flagship Moyock facility is a ‘state-of-the-art’ training center and hosts more than 20,000 government, law enforcement and commercial students each year,” Lombardi said.