At the water's edge is the theater of the Roanoke Island Historical
Association, in which Paul Green's _Lost Colony_ symphonic drama is
given annually during the summer season through the cooperation of the
State of North Carolina and the National Park Service.
[Illustration: _Three clay pots restored from fragments found in the
remains of Indian campfires at various levels in the fort ditch._]
_The National Historic Site_
Fort Raleigh was transferred to the National Park Service of the United
States Department of the Interior in 1940. On April 5, 1941, it was
designated Fort Raleigh National Historic Site under provision of the
act of Congress commonly referred to as the Historic Sites Act, approved
August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666), to commemorate Sir Walter Raleigh's
colonies and the birthplace of Virginia Dare, first child of English
parentage to be born in the New World. The area of the site in Federal
ownership is 18.50 acres and embraces part of the settlement sites of
1585 and 1587 and the fort site. By a cooperative agreement between the
Roanoke Island Historical Association and the United States, the play,
the _Lost Colony_, continues to be given each season in the Waterside
Theater at Fort Raleigh. This arrangement provides for the unhampered
production of the play with all of its creative folk qualities. 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
historic Site.
_How to Reach the Site_
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is 3 miles north of Manteo, N. C. on
State Route 345. It is 92 miles southeast of Norfolk, Va., and 67 miles
southeast of Elizabeth City, N. C. From Norfolk, Va., take Virginia and
North Carolina Routes 170 and 34 to junction of U. S. 158, then over U.
S. 158 to Manteo. Manteo may be reached also from Elizabeth City, N. C.,
over U. S. 158.
Traffic from the south and west can reach the site by the route from
Elizabeth City, or from Washington, N. C., over U. S. 264, or from
Williamston, N. C., over U. S. 64.
_Administration_
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is administered by the National Park
Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Communications
and inquiries should be addressed to the Superintendent, Fort Raleigh
National Historic Site, Manteo, N. C.
_Related Areas_
Other historical areas in the East associated with early colonization of
America, which are administered by the National Park Service, are
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, Fla.; De Soto National
Memorial, Fla.; Fort Matanzas National Monument, Fla.; San Juan National
Historic Site, Puerto Rico; Ackia Battleground National Monument, Miss.;
Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown, Yorktown, and Cape Henry
Memorial), Va.; Fort Frederica National Monument, Ga.; and Fort Caroline
National Memorial, Fla.
[Illustration: _The audience at one of the performances of Paul
Green's play "The Lost Colony."_]
_About Your Visit_
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is open the entire year. Information
and literature may be obtained in the museum. Organizations and groups
are given special service if arrangements are made in advance with the
superintendent. The _Lost Colony_, pageant-drama, is produced in the
Waterside Theater between June and September at night according to hours
and dates fixed by the sponsoring Roanoke Island Historical Association.
_Suggested Readings_
Hakluyt, Richard. _The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and
Discoveries of the English Nation._ Vol. VIII. Glasgow, Scotland.
1904.
Hariot, Thomas. _A Briefe and True Report of the New Found Land of
Virginia._ (A reproduction of the edition printed at Frankfort, in
1590, by Theodore de Bry, edited by W. H. Rylands for the Holbein
Society) Manchester, England. 1888.
Harrington, J. C. Archeological Explorations at Fort Raleigh National
Historic Site, in _North Carolina Historical Review_, Vol. XXVI,
No. 2, April 1949.
Ive, Paul. _The Practise of Fortification._ London, 1589.
Oré, Luis Geronimo de. _The Martyrs of Florida, 1513-1616._ Translated
by Maynard Geiger Franciscan Studios No. 18. New York. 1936.
Porter, Charles W. III. Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, North
Carolina, in _North Carolina Historical Review_. Vol. XX, No. 1.
1943.
Quinn, David B. _Raleigh and the British Empire._ New York. 1949.
.... _The Roanoke Voyages 1584-1590._ (Documents to illustrate the
Voyages to North America under the Patent Granted to Sir Walter
Raleigh in 1584.) 2 vols. The Hakluyt Society. London, England.
1955.
Reding, Katherine. Letter of Gonzalo Mendez de Canzo to Philip II, in
_Georgia Historical Quarterly_. Vol. VIII. 1924.
Rowse, A. L. _Sir Richard Granville of the Revenge._ Boston and New
York. 1937.
Williams, Talcott. The Surroundings and Site of Raleigh's Colony, in
_Annual Report of the American Historical Association for 1895_.
Washington, D. C. 1896.