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Mysteries / Vanishings

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

August 18, 1590 · Roanoke Island, Dare County, North Carolina, USA

An English colony of more than 100 people vanished, leaving only the word CROATOAN carved on a post.

John White finds the abandoned settlement in 1590, engraving by John Parker Davis
John White finds the abandoned settlement in 1590, engraving by John Parker DavisPhoto: Engraving by John Parker Davis · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

In 1587, a group of English settlers led by John White landed on Roanoke Island, in what is now North Carolina. White's granddaughter, Virginia Dare, was born there that August, recorded as "the first Christian born in Virginia". Soon afterwards White sailed home for supplies, but war with Spain kept him in England until 1590.

When White returned on August 18, 1590, his granddaughter's third birthday, the settlement was empty. The houses had been taken down and the site fortified. 'CRO' was carved on a tree and 'CROATOAN' on a post, the name of a nearby island and its people. White took this as the agreed sign that the colonists had moved there, since there was no cross to signal distress. Storms stopped him from searching Croatoan, and he never saw the colonists again.

Tree-ring studies show a severe drought in 1587 to 1589. Digs at 'Site X' inland and on Hatteras Island, the old Croatoan, have found 16th-century European objects, and in 2025 researchers reported iron-working waste on Hatteras that they say points to the settlers. The Lumbee tribe identifies as descended in part from the colonists.

Reconstructed earthworks at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Reconstructed earthworks at Fort Raleigh National Historic SitePhoto: Sarah Stierch · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Timeline

  1. July 1587John White's colonists land on Roanoke Island
  2. August 18, 1587Virginia Dare is born
  3. August 1587White sails to England for supplies
  4. August 18, 1590White returns to find the colony gone and CROATOAN carved on a post
  5. 1998Tree-ring study finds the worst drought in 800 years in 1587
  6. 2025Hatteras Island dig reports evidence of settler iron-working

The theories, rated

  • Best fitMoved and joined Native communities

    Fits the CROATOAN carving, the lack of graves and the finds on Hatteras Island and at Site X.

  • PossibleLost at sea trying to sail home

    They had a small ship, which was also never found.

  • UnlikelyKilled in an attack

    Reported by later Jamestown sources, but White found no signs of a fight.

  • Ruled outThe Dare Stones

    Inscribed stones 'found' from 1937 to 1941 are widely considered a hoax.

Sources

All 13 mysteries