Gary B. Speck

The site of England’s first New World fort and colony is located on Pierce Street, a quarter mile north of US 64, just east of the William Umstead Bridge on the north end of Roanoke Island, three miles north of Manteo, Dare County, NC.

Under the leadership of Sir Richard Grenville and Ralph Lane, 108 colonists from England landed near here in late June 1585. Financed by Grenville’s cousin, Sir Walter Raleigh, the colonists established a colony and erected a large earth bulwark for protection against the possibility of attack by the Spanish. Since it was too late in the year to plant new crops, Grenville returned to England for provisions, planning on returning before winter.

At Easter, 1586 Grenville still hadn't returned, and at the colony, things were so intolerable, that when Sir Francis Drake visited the colony, he offered to take the grateful colonists back to England.

Shortly afterward, a supply ship, followed within two weeks by Grenville himself arrived separately at the newly abandoned colony. The crews of neither ship was aware of what happened to the settlers, and after searching in vain, they headed back to England. Before leaving, Grenville left 15 men, four cannons and two years of supplies then headed back to England to round up more settlers.

On July 22, 1587, he returned with a shipload of people, and for the second time found an abandoned colony. Grenville had originally planned to pick up his 15 men and relocate the colony north to the Chesapeake Bay area. Again it was too late in the year to grow enough crops to last the winter, so a decision had to be made...move north or stay here through the winter. They decided to stay and move north in the Spring.

A month later the new governor, John White organized a provisioning trip to England so they could have enough supplies to last the winter. When White arrived in England his ship was confiscated for war service in a threatened war with Spain. He went to Sir Walter Raleigh to try and obtain a small supply ship so he could immediately return with provisions for his people.

Finally, three years later, on August 12, 1590 he returned to an abandoned colony. Except for the word "CROATOAN" carved into a post, the entire colony and its 116 people had disappeared without a trace, a mystery still unsolved to this day. Three attempts – three failures.

On April 15, 1941, Fort Raleigh became a National Historic Site. Reconstructed earthworks and a museum are on site.

For more information about Fort Raleigh and the lost Roanoke Colony, visit the National Park website at: http://www.nps.gov/fora/hrs/hrs.htm

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for June 2003.

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FIRST POSTED: Jul 05, 2003

LAST UPDATED: Mar 20, 2005

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