America’s Oldest Unsolved Mystery

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina and fulfill a 40 year wish to see the production of The Lost Colony on Roanoke Island. This popular summer attraction was first performed seventy-eight years ago, making it the oldest outdoor symphonic drama in the country.

On the way to the Outer Banks, I recalled my parents telling me about another drama that took place that same summer on Roanoke Island. That event occurred seventy-eight years ago to the day I would be attending the play.

On an early June day in 1937, a young Naval Lieutenant stationed in Norfolk, Virginia planned on taking his sweetheart on a picnic to propose marriage.

July 1937

That couple in their mid twenties was my parents. Whether it took my father hours to work up his courage or whether it was his intent, they ended up driving all the way to Roanoke Island, North Carolina. A 200 mile round trip was no small Saturday excursion in 1937. It was also the subject of a lot of teasing over their 43 year marriage, since, at the time, transporting a single female across a state line was a felony.

So now, seventy-eight years later, I had tickets and was on my way to see the play I’d been waiting so long to see. The Lost Colony, a Tony award winning play was written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Paul Green.

The musical pageant is based on accounts of Sir Walter Raleigh's attempts to establish a settlement on Roanoke Island, then part of the Colony of Virginia. Early in the play we watched Raleigh lead a group of men in 1585 to Roanoke on primarily a military mission. These settlers returned to England with two Indian leaders, Manteo and Wanchese, because of a shortage of food and altercations they had with other natives.

Opening Scene for "The Lost Colony"

John White, Governor of the new colony, led another group of 117 men, women and children in July 1587 to the existing Roanoke Island settlement. The next month, the Governor’s daughter, Eleanor Dare, wife of Ananias Dare gave birth to Virginia Dare, the first English child born on American soil. Ten days later John White sailed back to England for a fresh load of supplies. During this time a major naval war broke out between England and Spain. Queen Elizabeth I insisted every ship would be needed to confront the invading Spanish Armada. Governor White was not able to return to his wife, daughter, granddaughter and other settlers at Roanoke until August 1590. When he arrived, no trace was found of the colony or its settlers. The only clue was the single word “Croatoan” carved into a wooden post. In the past 428 years there have been many scenarios speculated on what happened to these colonists, but no one really knows. At the time the settlers did enjoy a friendlier relationship with the local Indians, so it is possible that they joined with the friendly Croatoan natives in order to survive.

The Lost Colony production was first rate and priced at $30 a ticket. It had elaborate Elizabethan costumes, particularly for the scenes taking place in London. Watching the scene transitions was fascinating. The singing and dancing were nothing short of a Broadway play. I was particularly moved by the Christian emphasis in the Colonist’s hymns, prayers and dialog.

Memorial Stone to the original Roanoke Settlers

Given that our nation was in the midst of the Great Depression when this award winning production was written, it is no surprise that it focuses on the ideals of freedom, struggle and perseverance. The names of the people who lived there so long ago are memorialized everywhere in the towns and on street signs throughout Roanoke Island.