Very interesting... thanks!

I had never heard about site X before - and why was everyone named John?

Well, that was interesting. Thanks
My relatives came over later in 1672.

I remember watching an In Search Of... on the topic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaqG6rC4hIw

If you are ever in that area go see the Lost Colony live performance. It’s a great show and you will learn quite a bit of history. Our family has vacationed at the OBX my whole life and I loved how the show often had a different ending each time we went because they didn’t know what happened to the colonists.

Link to the Lost Colony live performance




Link to original video: https://youtu.be/bbo2-qFa5zM

That's a great presentation of an interesting bit of history.

Thanks for passing it along!

A good summary, but here's some additional info: Croatoan is now Hatteras Island, and at the village of Buxton in 1996 an archaeological dig by East Carolina University found a gold signet ring at a 16th century Indian village. It had the likeness of a "Prancing Lion", which was the crest of one of the Lost Colony families. This ring no doubt had made it's way from Roanoke Island to Croatoan.

Also when John Lawson described the Hatteras Indians 100 years later, not only did they have some European physical characteristics, but they dressed completely as Europeans, not using any of the traditional Indian dress of the day, and they claimed to be descendants of the colonists.

I have always believed it possible that the colonists went in different directions, probably decided by family unit. I think there can little doubt that at least some of them went to Hatteras Island.

For what it's worth --- the Lumbee indians are located primarily in Robeson County, NC. Robeson County is about 60 miles inland from Wilmigton.

It's not unusual for them to have blue eyes and "old English" surnames (Oxendine, Brayboy, Chavis, Locklear, etc.).

Many (most?) Lumbees now identify as Tuscarora's. It seems the Lumbee tribe never fought a war or signed a treaty with the U. S. Govt. and are ineligible for federal aid.

Very interesting.

Thanks,
Silent

Agreed " The Lost Colony " outdoor theatre is a must see if you make it to the OBX. Been several times, but would like to do it again soon.

There is a Croatan Beach, VA which is south of Virginia Beach. Is there any connection to that and the lost colony story?

quote:

Originally posted by Dzozer:
... - and why was everyone named John?

That made me laugh too, I was wondering if anyone else noticed it.

Some folks think the actual location of the colony on Roanoke Island is unknown. But the outline of the fort is still visible. The first serious archaeologists discovered that there were raised areas of ground with shallow depressions around them suggesting that trenches were dug and that the soil dug out of the trenches was stacked to make the fort walls. Soil compression signatures confirmed that was a correct hypothesis. Today, the basic shape of the fort is known and a scintilla of the original walls remain. It's really neat to walk among them.

By the way, Roanoke Island is just about the only dry land between the Outer Banks and inland mainland. Once you go past Roanoke Island to the mainland, it's all pocasin forest unsuitable for settling. 50 miles inland corresponds to about the first place one would get to with dry land that could be settled.

There is dry land in Dare County today, but most of it came from draining pocasin forests in the 1800 an early 1900s. The Site X location is about the first place the settlers would have gotten that would have had decent land to live on. So Site X makes sense in that respect.

I remember reading about Roanoke in 7th grade history and was intrigued by it. Thanks for posting the video.

PASig, that used to be my local break. Fun surf spot for sure! I still surf there from time to time. I am not sure about the connection honestly. It’s something I noticed but never looked up.

Croatoan