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Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- 'The Lost Colony' redirects here. For other uses, see Lost Colony (disambiguation).
| Fort Raleigh National Historic Site | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
  |
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| Location | Manteo, North Carolina, USA |
| Nearest city | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 512.93 acres (355.45 federal) 2.08 km² |
| Established | April 5, 1941 |
| Visitors | 276,071 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves the location of Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in North America.
The historic site is off of U.S. Highway 64 on the north end of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. The fate of Sir Walter Raleigh's "Lost Colony" remains a mystery. The site is also home to the outdoor symphonic drama Paul Green's The Lost Colony, performed in the Waterside Theatre during the summer since 1937 and presented by the Roanoke Island Historical Association. Within the historic site are the Elizabethan Gardens, managed by the Garden Club of North Carolina, created as a memorial to the first colonists and as an example of a period garden.
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site was established on April 5, 1941, through a transfer of property to the National Park Service under a cooperative agreement with the Roanoke Island Historical Association (RIHA) and Acting Secretary of the Interior Alvin J. Wirtz, using authority provided under the Historic Sites Act of 1935. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Fort Raleigh is co-managed with two other Outer Banks parks, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and is the location of the group headquarters at the northern end of Roanoke Island. The cooperative agreement of 1941 allows RIHA to stage theatrical performances in the Waterside Theatre also on park property. Paul Green's play, "The Lost Colony," has been performed at this theater, with an interlude during World War II, since 1937. The site was preserved for its national significance in relation to the founding of the first English settlement in North America in 1587. However, the colony, which was promoted and backed by entrepreneurs led by Englishman Sir Walter Raleigh, failed sometime between 1587 and 1590 when supply ships failed to arrive on time and for reasons still unknown.
- Cameron Binkley and Steve Davis. "Preserving the Mystery: An Administrative History of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site." National Park Service, 2003.
- The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior.
- Official NPS site: Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
- Roanoke Island Historical Association: The Lost Colony drama
- North Carolina Gardens (site includes The Elizabethan Gardens)
- The Elizabethan Gardens
