NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?
Roanoke Island, the site where English settlers first attempted to colonize the New World.BEAUTY (6/10)
The wind-gnarled trees, isolated earthworks and the abandoned reconstructed fort look foreboding already. Dark skies, whipping wave crashes and thick tree canopy add menace to the isolated Site where intrepid 16th Century Englishmen were deposited not once, but twice.
The most notable modern addition to the Site is the gorgeous Waterside Theatre, home to The Lost Colony musical theater show that runs from June though August. The stage, entrance and gates are built in a faux-Tudor style replete with a 20-foot high wooden fence that mocks the Lost Colonist’s fort. From the modern, comfy green plastic theater seats, the audience can see Roanoke Sound, its waves breaking behind the stage. We can scarcely imagine a more perfect setting.
The Site’s pervasive theatrical theme continues inside the Visitor Center with a small, reconstructed Tudor stage. You half expect Shakespeare to saunter on in, skull in hand, pen in teeth, masterpiece on his mind.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (8/10)
In 1585, famed English privateer Sir Walter Raleigh successfully procured funding from Queen Elizabeth I to build her country’s first colony in the New World. Raleigh chose this location along Carolina’s Outer Banks because of its proximity to the currents that brought gold-bearing Spanish galleons from Havana back to their homeports.
Raleigh’s first colony failed because of his settlers’ intractable incompetence; they refused to hunt and grow their own crops AND alienated the Indians they expected to sustain them by beheading their Chief. These judgmental errors led to a swift abandonment of Roanoke Island in June of 1586, little more than a year after the colony began.
Raleigh was not done trying. In May of 1587, three more ships sailed westward from England carrying 110 colonists, including 17 men and 9 children. In contrast, the 1585 attempt consisted of mostly military men and no women. The 1587 settlers aimed to settle near present-day Virginia Beach but for many reasons, all insane, the boats dropped them off at the place where the last attempt failed, Roanoke Island.The colony’s leader, John White, had his ups and downs. His first leadership decision involved a surprise attack on a friendly Indian tribe. Bad move. Soon after, his daughter gave birth to New World’s first English baby, named Virginia Dare. Happy day. Then, three months after landing at Roanoke, White decided that the colony needed more supplies and he returned to England without his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Sad time.
White did not come back to Roanoke Island until 1590, three years later! By then the settlers had disappeared, the word CROATOAN carved upon a house post was all that remained of the accurately dubbed Lost Colony. Because of her subjects’ abject failures, the Queen put a hold on New World colonization. The next attempt, Jamestown in 1607, came three years after her death.
CROWDS (6/10)
Outer Banks other staple attractions, the Wright Bros NMEM and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, had many more visitors than Fort Raleigh. Maybe things pick up during theater season.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
Fort Raleigh NHS is a long drive from any urban area. Odds are you will only come here if you are vacationing in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Since millions travel here every year, Fort Raleigh is closer than its geography suggests. Fort Raleigh is 150 miles east of Rocky Mount, the nearest large North Carolina city.
If you are coming from the west, two bridges connect Roanoke Island to the mainland. The William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge (Business U.S. Route 64/264) hits land at Fort Raleigh NHS. Look to your left; the Park is there. If you take the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge (U.S. Route 64/264), you are still OK. Turn north (left) on Virginia Dare Road, drive for about eight miles, the Park is on the right. If you go on another bridge (the Umstead), you have gone too far.
If you are coming from the Outer Banks and Bodie Island take U.S. Route 64/264 (also the Virginia Dare Bridge) to Roanoke Island. Turn north (right) on Virginia Dare Road, drive for about eight miles, the Park is on the right. There should be plenty of signs.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
The bookstore initially looks to have a large set of titles, but upon closer inspection, it is just the same 15 books displayed on different shelves, including four books about Elizabeth I and about seven regarding the lost Roanoke colony. There must be unending scholarship on English colonization, the Virgin Queen, Sir Walter Raleigh and Tudor-era Theater. More, we say, more.
COSTS (4/5)
Entry into the Fort Raleigh NHS is free, a perfect non-miniature golf excursion for the whole family during your Outer Banks vacation.
The Elizabethan Gardens and The Lost Colony musical show do charge entrance fees. The Gardens run $6 per adult and The Lost Colony tickets range from $16-20.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
We had a terrific time discussing the many troublesome holes in the Fort Raleigh/Lost Colony narrative with the equally skeptical Ranger on duty. Questions like “Why in blazes was the second group of settlers dropped off at Roanoke Island?”, “Why would the colony’s leader, John White, leave his responsibility and go off to England so quickly?” and “Were Sir Walter and Queen Elizabeth intimate?” were answered with skilled knowledge, probing depth and a sense of humor.
TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)
The charmingly camp Fort Raleigh film serves as a terrific introduction to the 400-year old mystery of the Lost Colony. In the very funny film, over-the-top actors portray the inept English heroes as they disappear into history. The film answers no questions but it does a great job of provoking interest. When we left the theater, we were completely interested and armed with more questions than our time with the Ranger allowed.
FUN (7/10)History’s mysteries are fun, especially those whose answers are rather certain. Odds are, the surrounding hostile Indians either killed the Lost Colonists or assimilated them into the tribe. This is a solvable mystery unlike the Great Pyramids or the disappearance of the Anasazi.
The Park’s retelling has always centered on the dramatic, The Lost Colony musical was first performed in 1937. As a result, the Park Site feels like a juicy television miniseries rather than a stodgy historic event. The characters also have great names: Ananais, Wingina, the Virgin Queen, Manteo, Virginia Dare, Sir Walter Raleigh and Simon Fernandes. Who couldn’t have fun here?
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (7/10)
All the Outer Banks National Park Sites (Fort Raleigh NHS, Wright Brothers NMEM and Cape Hatteras NS) make for terrific visits, just three of the many reasons you might take you vacation along Carolina’s Atlantic Coast.
TOTAL 53/80
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