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early plans
Queen Elizabeth gave Virginia land and a boat to Sir Walter Raleigh. -
The First Expedition
The expedition arrived at Roanoke in 1585. Greenville left 107 settlers, all men, at Roanoke under the charge of Ralph Lane. Greenville then returned to England in order to gather additional supplies for the settlement. -
The Second Colony
A second attempt at starting a colony at Roanoke occurred in 1587. This time 115 colonists travelled to Roanoke led by John White. They hoped to find the men that Greenville had left a year earlier. However, upon their arrival, all they found at the settlement was a human skeleton. Despite this setback, the colonists began to build their settlement on Roanoke. Not long after their arrival, a girl named Virginia Dare was born. She was the first child born in the Americas to English parents. -
The Colony has Disapeared
After returning to England, White could find little help for the colony. England was in the middle of a large battle with Spain and the Spanish Armada. As a result, White was unable to return until three years later in 1590. When White arrived he found the colony completely abandoned. The only clues that White found included the word "Croatoan" carved into a fence post and "Cro" carved into a tree. White found no sign of a struggle, however, and figured that the colonists had moved to Croatoan, -
Memorial Brige
A bridge was built to Roanoke Island in 2002. It is called the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge.
