The first expedition by the English to settle the Americas was lead by Sir Walter Raleigh and landed on Roanoke Island in 1584. The colony also saw the first birth of an english child in the Americas, named Virginia Dare.
After its initial settlement, the ships returned to England for supplies; but when the supply ships returned the colony was abandoned with no sign or message of the fate of the colonist. The colony would forever be called, "The Lost Colony".
The National Park Service transferred Fort Raleigh to the United States Department of the Interior in 1940.
The outdoor drama, the Lost Colony, continues to be given each season in the Waterside Theater at Fort Raleigh. The income from the play is dedicated to the maintenance of the theater, the next season's production, and the expansion and development of the Fort Raleigh historic site. The play has been in production since 1937.
