What happened to The Lost Colony?
I’ll never tell.

I have been around a long time—about 416 years, in fact.  John White found me among many other stones when he returned to Roanoke Island, North Carolina in 1590.  Although nobody knows what happened to The Lost Colony, I know the secret.  But if I told you, it wouldn’t be a mystery, now would it? The story of the Lost Colony is an interesting one.  If you pull up a chair, I’ll share it with you.

Queen Elizabeth I wanted Sir Walter Raleigh to establish colonies in the New World.  The first group was sent in 1585, but it was only a group of men.  Not only were they homesick for their families, but they also ran out of food and other supplies. They were also not getting along with the Native Americans, who were not used to having other people on their small island. Not surprisingly, they returned to England in 1586..

In 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh sent another group of colonists.  Under the direction of John White, 110 colonists (men, women, and children) landed on Roanoke Island on July 22, 1587.  When they arrived, they found the remains of some of the houses from the first colonists.  They repaired these and built some new homes.  Not long after the colonists arrived, Governor White’s granddaughter, Virginia Dare was born.  She was the first English child to be born in the New World.  Although the colonists were very happy that Virginia was born, they were getting scared about not having enough supplies.  They begged John White to go back to England for more supplies.  Now, he wasn’t too thrilled about leaving his new granddaughter, but after the colonists’ persuasion, he set sail for England on August 27, 1587.  Little did he know, this would be the last time he would see his family or the rest of the colonists.

When White arrived in England, they were getting ready for war with Spain.  There was no way Queen Elizabeth was going to let him return to the New World.  Finally, in 1590, John White returned to Roanoke Island.  When he arrived, however, there was no sign of the colonists.  The only clue he found was the letters “CRO” carved in tree.  He was hoping this meant that the colonists were with the Croatoan Indians on a nearby island.  He soon discovered that this was a dead end.  White never found Virginia Dare or the rest of the colonists. 

To this day, nobody knows what happened to The Lost Colony.  Some people think that they traveled further inland and established a colony there.  Others believe they may have drowned at sea.  Another theory is that they went to their original destination, the Chesapeake Bay.  What do you think? 

11/18/2005