The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island

After visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial, we drove down to Roanoke Island to visit the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, which, while home to the restored remains of a dirt walled fort established by delegates of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1585 on the second of three colonizing voyages, it is more well known as the first location of the "Lost Colony" established by 150 settlers under Sir Walter Raleigh's governor, John White, an artist who sailed on the earlier voyages to the location:

On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth I granted Raleigh a charter for the colonization of the area of North America. This charter specified that Raleigh needed to establish a colony in North America, or lose his right to colonization.  Raleigh and Elizabeth intended that the venture should provide riches from the New World and a base from which to send privateers on raids against the treasure fleets of Spain.  Raleigh himself never visited North America.

The first voyage commissioned by Raleigh left England on April 27, 1584 and was led by Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe with the goal to explore the eastern coast of North America. They arrived on Roanoke Island on July 4, 1584.  John White sailed on this original voyage as its artist.

The fort was established in July 1585 on the second voyage by Sir Richard Grenville, a cousin of Sir Walter Raleigh and populated with 108 people. This colony was unsuccessful and Sir Walter Raleigh took the survivors back to England in 1586.

In 1587, the colony was repopulated with 150 colonists led by John White, who Raleigh named Governor of the colony. The settlement and the fort were rebuilt.

John White's granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was born August 18, 1587, less than a week after the colony was re-established.  She was the first child born in the Americas from English parents.  Life in the colony was difficult, however, and the colonists persuaded White to return to England for supplies.  However, his return was delayed by a conflict between England and Spain. When he returned in August 1590 - three years after leaving - the colonists had disappeared without a trace. Now known as the "Lost Colony", the fate of the colonists remains unknown.

There are many theories of what happened to the colony, but to add to the mystery, the actual original location of the settlement itself has not yet been located.  There is speculation that it may lie just off the north end of Roanoke Island under water, in a location that had been dry ground in the late 1500's.

Wherever the original settlement was located, an even greater mystery is what happened to the colonists while John White was returning to England.  One theory is that they were adopted or kidnapped by local tribes and absorbed into their populations.  Another theory is that the colony was relocated north to an undiscovered location.  No archaeological evidence exists to clearly point to one answer over another.

In any event, the colony is intriguing because it was the first colony established by England in the New World.  It preceded Jamestown (established in 1607) by 20 years, and Plymouth (established in 1620) by 33 years.  Despite the Lost Colony's failure, it was only a matter of a few years before England succeeded in permanently establishing its settlements in the New World.

The rest is history.