Sometime in the late 1700s or early 1800s, a man of indeterminate origin arrived on Ocracoke Island, several miles north of the village. Many wondered who this mystery man was, as talk soon circulated. He came from a distant land, and it was even rumored he had once been a pirate. Not only was he dark-skinned, but some speculated that he was of African, West Indian, or even Puerto Rican descent, and he preferred solitude.
The stranger in the new land earned the nickname “Old Quawk” or “Quork” among the locals. When the man was forced to interact with the rest of the island community, he would often become excited or argumentative, and people thought he squawked like a night heron.
Old Quawk enjoyed fishing the Pamlico Sound like the other men, with their nets. On March 16, no year given, a bad storm blew into the area. All the fisherman, concerned for their safety, agreed not to venture out in their small boats, except one.
Quawk grabbed his gear and set out in his small boat to salvage his catch. Legend says that Quawk returned just as the wind started to howl, and the storm began to rage, with a ship full of fish. Others begged the man not to go back out, which would most certainly have been imminent death, as he started refolding his nets, refilling water jugs, and preparing for the worsening sea.
Legend says Old Quawk laughed, taking his hands in a fist and shaking them towards heaven, and even claimed to be more potent than GOD! And with that, Quawk made his way into the storm, followed by a shrieking night heron, never to be seen again.
For more than two hundred years, seafarers from Ocracoke have stayed in port on March 16 to pay respect to the legend and memory of Old Quawk.
Today, he lives on through local landmarks near where he made his home. One is where North Carolina Highway 12 crosses “Old Quork’s Creek,” and another is Quawk Hammock, a hill where he spent his last years.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.
Source: Walser, Richard. North Carolina Legends. North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Second Printing 1981. Dare County NC Website.
