Fort Raleigh National Historic Site | |
 Fort Raleigh during reconstruction (1950) | |
   | |
| Location | Dare County, North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Manteo, North Carolina |
| Coordinates | 35°56′19″N 75°42′36″W / 35.93861°N 75.71000°W |
| Area | 14 acres (5.7 ha) |
| Built | 1585 |
| Architect | Ralph Lane |
| Visitation | 276,071 (2005) |
| Website | Fort Raleigh National Historic Site |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000102[1] |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site preserves the location of Roanoke Colony, the first English settlement in the present-day United States. The site was preserved for its national significance in relation to the founding of the first English settlement in North America in 1587. The colony, which was promoted and backed by entrepreneurs led by Englishman Sir Walter Raleigh (c. 1554–1618), failed sometime between 1587 and 1590 when supply ships failed to arrive on time. When next visited, the settlement was abandoned with no survivors found. The fate of the "Lost Colony" was a celebrated mystery, although most modern academic sources agree that the settlers likely assimilated into local indigenous tribes.
The historic site is off U.S. Highway 64 on the north end of Roanoke Island, North Carolina, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of the town of Manteo. The visitor center's museum contains exhibits about the history of the English expeditions and colonies, the Roanoke Colony, and the island's Civil War history and Freedmen's Colony (1863-1867).