The Lost Colony of Roanoke and The Croatoan Carving

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The Lost Colony of Roanoke and the Croatoan Carving is a North Carolina story with a documented core at Roanoke Island (Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, Manteo), Dare County. The sources are named below.

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Oct 27Checked, 2026

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The Lost Colony of Roanoke and The Croatoan Carving

People say that in 1587 more than a hundred English settlers made a home on Roanoke Island. Their leader, John White, sailed home for supplies and was kept away for three years. When he came back, the houses were gone and the word CROATOAN was cut into a post. To this day, nobody knows for sure where the settlers went.

What The Record Shows

The National Park Service page "The Lost Colony" (Fort Raleigh National Historic Site) documents the English voyages of 1584, 1585, 1587 and 1590 and says White led 117 men, women and children in 1587; NCpedia's "Lost Colony" by Phillip W. Evans (2006) says about 150, so the exact headcount differs by source. NCpedia says White left a few days after the christening of his granddaughter Virginia Dare on August 18, 1587 and returned in mid-August 1590, finding the settlement deserted with the houses taken down. The NPS page "Major Theories of the Lost Colony" says White found the word "Croatoan" carved on a post, and that he had told the colonists to leave a message if they moved. It says buildings were dismantled, not destroyed, and that White found no graves. The same NPS page lists the main theories (hurricane, famine and disease, Spanish attack, a move to the Chesapeake Bay, to Albemarle Sound, or to Croatoan on Hatteras Island) and states that no one has definitively proven what happened. English-made objects have been found at Albemarle Sound and Hatteras Island sites, but NPS says no remains, graves, buildings or village sites have been definitively linked to the colonists, and the objects may have arrived through trade.

Sources: The Lost Colony – Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service); Major Theories of the Lost Colony – Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service); Lost Colony, by Phillip W. Evans, 2006 (NCpedia, State Library of North Carolina).

A Note

The fate of the colonists is unknown and no theory is proven. The sources disagree even on how many people sailed in 1587 (the National Park Service says 117, North Carolina's encyclopedia about 150), so no count is given here.

Its home: Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. Official page.

On this site: Outer Banks, Coast Events.

Looked for and Not Found

A single agreed headcount of the 1587 colonists: NPS says 117, NCpedia says about 150 (both pages read).
Any mention of the carving on the NPS page 'The Lost Colony' itself (it is on the 'Major Theories' page).
A cross or distress sign beside the carving: the NPS Major Theories page does not mention one.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is the story of The Lost Colony of Roanoke and the Croatoan Carving true?

Is this a legend?

It is a story with a documented core. The facts are listed on this page with their sources.

Where do these facts come from?

From the named sources listed on this page: The Lost Colony – Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service); Major Theories of the Lost Colony – Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service); Lost Colony, by Phillip W. Evans, 2006 (NCpedia, State Library of North Carolina).

Sources

Read on October 27, 2026. Stories are for fun; the facts come from these sources. How we check: editorial standards; spot a mistake? tell us.

Cite this page: It's North Carolina, “The Lost Colony of Roanoke and The Croatoan Carving”, itsnorthcarolina.com/legends/lost-colony-roanoke-croatoan/ (updated 2026-10-27). By the It's North Carolina editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.