Outer Banks Dare County Memorial to the Lost Colony Colonists

Every summer since 1937, the town of Manteo has staged *The Lost Colony*, an outdoor drama built around one of American history's most stubborn mysteries. In 1587, a group of roughly 120 men, women, and children attempted to establish an English settlement on Roanoke Island. Governor John White left for England that same summer to fetch supplies. When he returned in 1590, the settlement had vanished — the only traces were the word "CROATOAN" carved into a fort palisade and the letters "CRO" on a nearby tree. Nobody has resolved it since.