Fort Raleigh is the site of America's first English colony.
It was 400 years ago that Sir Walter Raleigh sailed across the
Atlantic from England with a group of colonists to arrive on
these shores. The first group of 107 settlers arriving in Roanoke
in 1585. Their supply ship had been lost at sea and life began on
Roanoke low on supplies and inadequately equipped to hunt or
farm. The local Indians initially brought these settlers food but
relations turned sour when the colonists feelings of superiority
over these natives induced them to begin "forcefully
demanding" rather than "graciously accepting" this
help. With Indian relationships waning and supplies exhausted,
the first group of colonists left Roanoke and returned to England
after one year.
The second group of 110 men, women, and children arrived two
years later in 1587. A colony whose disappearance has perplexed
historians for centuries. A supply ship visiting the colony in
1590 found no trace of the settlement. Little is known of their
fate. The only thing found was the word "Croatan"
carved in the bark of a nearby tree. Croatan was the name of what
is now Ocracoke Island but there was no Maltese Cross. The sign
trouble had forced their departure. The most popular theory is
that these settlers were killed by the local Indians.
Archaeological evidence however, does not support a massacre? To
this day archaeologists work to uncover the secret to one of
America's most enduring enigmas.
The story of the "Lost Colony" is enacted in
America's first outdoor theater that began at Fort Raleigh in
1937. It depicts the tale of this ill-fated settlement and birth
of Virginia Dare, the first English baby born in America.
Although the colony did not succeed, tales of America's vast
wilderness areas prompted others to sail to the New World.
Finally in 1607 the first permanent English settlement was
founded at Jamestown. Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Cape
Hatteras Group, Rt 1, Box 675, Manteo, NC 27954 (252) 473-5772 . www.nps.gov/fora
The second group of 110 men, women, and children arrived two
years later in 1587. A colony whose disappearance has perplexed
historians for centuries. A supply ship visiting the colony in
1590 found no trace of the settlement. Little is known of their
fate. The only thing found was the word "Croatan"
carved in the bark of a nearby tree. Croatan was the name of what
is now Ocracoke Island but there was no Maltese Cross. The sign
trouble had forced their departure. The most popular theory is
that these settlers were killed by the local Indians.
Archaeological evidence however, does not support a massacre? To
this day archaeologists work to uncover the secret to one of
America's most enduring enigmas. 