Duck was barely more than a few homes for local fishermen/hunting guides, and a small grocery store until the mid-1970's when development of the northern Outer Banks began.
In fact, the area was so sparsely populated and hard to travel that Currituck County transferred the land to Dare County in the early 1900's. From its position in the extreme northeast corner of the mainland, Currituck could not provide adequate schools for the barrier islands to the south. To make matters worse, the property taxes from the small fishing villages were meager. It is said that the taxes collected from the area would not even pay the cost of sending the tax assessor! --How things have changed!!
Before the Civil War, the main source of livelihood --like on most of the Banks-- was subsistence fishing and hunting. When the war ended, Northerners returned to this area as commercial wild-fowlers or to operate fisheries. There were also private hunting estates and game clubs, like The Whalehead Club or Mackays Island just to the north.
Shallow Currituck Sound, which borders the western side of Duck and the northernmost portion of North Banks (or Currituck Banks) was legendary in its bounty of waterfowl. Those that lived here often worked as game or fishing guides to supplement their incomes. Duck, like all of the other communities on the Outer Banks, originally developed as a soundside community --to seek protection from the ocean during storms.
