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Sunday, January 17, 2016

Lindsay Warren Visitor Center - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site


Fort Raleigh was an earthen fortification built by the English colonists of the 1585 expedition to Roanoke Island. Sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh, the group left England on April 9 utilizing a fleet of five ships. After being scattered by a storm, most of the ships reached the Outer Banks by early July. Sir Richard Grenville left the colonists on August 17 with a promise to return the next spring. Under the leadership of Ralph Lane, the colonists built the small fort and spent the winter on the island. Supply ships did not arrive in the spring as promised, but Sir Francis Drake did arrive in June 1586 and offered to take the colonists back to England. Lane quickly agreed due to limited food supplies and increasing tension with the local tribes, leaving on June 19. Grenville arrived later in the summer to find the colony abandoned. He left behind a small garrison to maintain the English claim to the land, but there was no sign of them when the "Lost Colony" arrived in 1587.

The visitor center houses the usual information desk, museum, bookstore and offices. A theater shows the 17 minute video entitiled Roanoke: The Lost Colony. Restrooms are located in a separate building across the entrance plaza. The site includes 14 acres north of Manteo. We visited in October 2015.

Entrance

Information desk

Exhibit area

The museum area contains numerous artifacts

Bricks for the opening of a small furnace

Crucible shards and charcoal

Glass beads

Iron sickle, axe and nails

Exhibits on the Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island and the Underground Railroad

Exhibit on local work of Reginald Fessenden, the inventor of AM radio

Reproduction of Sir Walter Raleigh's drawing room

Monument to the "safe haven" of Roanoke Island for slaves

Entrance to site is the free. Within the park, two non-federal park partners charge fees:



The park website is http://www.nps.gov/fora/index.htm.

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