Recent History of Fort Raleigh

On April 30, 1894, the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association purchased the fort and 10 acres of surrounding land for memorial purposes. In 1896, the memorial area was extended to 16.45 acres, and the Virginia Dare monument was erected. In order to promote a more active program of interpretation at Fort Raleigh, the Roanoke Island Historical Association was organized in 1932. With Federal aid a series of buildings, constituting a symbolical restoration and an open-air theater, were constructed. In 1935, the area became a State historical park under the administration of the North Carolina Historical Commission. Two years later, the production of Paul Green’s Lost Colony pageant-drama attracted Nation-wide attention to Fort Raleigh. The immediate success of the play caused it to be repeated each season, and the performance is now recognized as America’s outstanding folk play.