The Lost Colony of Roanoke

In the summer of 1587, about 115 English men, women and children landed on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what is now North Carolina, intending to build a permanent colony. Their governor was John White, an artist who had visited the area before. That August, his daughter gave birth to a girl, Virginia Dare, who is often described as the first English child born in the Americas.

Within weeks, however, it became clear that the colony was short of supplies, and the settlers persuaded White to sail back to England for help. Before he left, they agreed on a simple system. If they moved, they would carve the name of their destination on a tree or post; if they had been forced to leave, they would add a cross. He meant to return as soon as possible. Instead, the war between England and Spain got in the way: ships were needed to face the Spanish Armada, and an attempt to sail back in 1588 ended in failure.

It was not until August 18, 1590, which would have been his granddaughter's third birthday, that White finally reached Roanoke again. The settlement was empty. The houses had been taken down, which suggested that the colonists had left without hurrying, and many of their belongings were gone. The letters "CRO" were found carved into a tree, and on one of the posts of the fence around the settlement someone had carved a whole word: "CROATOAN." There was no cross.

Croatoan was the name of an island to the south, where a friendly Native American people lived, and White was convinced that the colonists had gone there. Had the weather been kinder, he might have solved the mystery that week. But the sea was rough, seven sailors had already drowned while landing, and the bad weather forced the ships to leave before anyone could search. White was taken back to England, and he never saw Roanoke again.

More than four centuries later, historians still cannot say for certain what happened. The colonists may have gone to Croatoan, now part of Hatteras Island, and gradually become part of the community there. Some archaeologists have found European objects at sites in the area, although it is disputed whether they belonged to the colonists. Others believe that a group might have moved inland. It is also possible that they were attacked, or that they died at sea trying to sail home.

Each theory explains some of the evidence, but none explains all of it. If the colonists left calmly for Croatoan, why were they never found? And if they were in danger, why did they leave no cross? The answer may still be buried somewhere on the coast of North Carolina, waiting for someone to dig in the right place.