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What Do We Know About the Lost Colony of Roanoke?
Find out what really happened when an entire colony disappeared in 1590, just five years after it was founded. What is the truth about the missing members of the lost colony of Roanoke?
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to found the very first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The initial settlement—called the Lane colony—failed due to extremely low supplies and a hostile relationship with the Native American people who were already living on the land. Despite this miserable first attempt, Raleigh decided to establish another settlement. Over one hundred people agreed to join this new colony on Roanoke Island, just off the coast of what is now North Carolina. The colony's governor, John White, chose to return to England to get more supplies but found himself stuck there for three years due to an unexpected war. When he arrived back at Roanoke, the entire colony had vanished. Over one hundred people, including his wife and daughter, had seemingly disappeared. They were never heard from again. The only clue left was the word "Croatoan" carved into a post. What really happened to the missing English settlers? Find out what we do know about this historic unsolved mystery in this nonfiction book for young readers.
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh attempted to found the very first permanent English settlement in the Americas. The initial settlement—called the Lane colony—failed due to extremely low supplies and a hostile relationship with the Native American people who were already living on the land. Despite this miserable first attempt, Raleigh decided to establish another settlement. Over one hundred people agreed to join this new colony on Roanoke Island, just off the coast of what is now North Carolina. The colony's governor, John White, chose to return to England to get more supplies but found himself stuck there for three years due to an unexpected war. When he arrived back at Roanoke, the entire colony had vanished. Over one hundred people, including his wife and daughter, had seemingly disappeared. They were never heard from again. The only clue left was the word "Croatoan" carved into a post. What really happened to the missing English settlers? Find out what we do know about this historic unsolved mystery in this nonfiction book for young readers.
112 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2025
About the author
Emma Carlson Berne
340 books149 followersEmma Carlson Berne is the author of the YA thrillers STILL WATERS and NEVER LET YOU GO (coming Fall 2012 from Simon & Schuster). She has also written the thrillers FIGMENT and CHOKER under the pen name Elizabeth Woods. She lives and writes in Cincinnati. Learn more about Emma and contact her directly at her website, www.emmacarlsonberne.com. Or check out Emma Carlson Berne Books on http://www.facebook.com/EmmaCarlsonBe... or follow her on Twitter.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 9, 2025
In 1584 an English group set up a temporary settlement on Roanoke, a barrier island off the coast of North Carolina. Shortly afterwards, some went back to England for supplies. The remaining ones got into fights with the Indians living there. The supply ship didn’t return. Two years later Sir Francis Drake arrived to check on them. A hurricane hit them all. The settlers had enough and left with Drake for England. Then the supply ship arrived finding no one, left 15 men to guard the place, and returned to England.
In 1587 a second attempt was made to re-establish the settlement. The plan was to go to Roanoke temporarily and develop the permanent settlement further inland. The governor John White and 115 new settlers landed at Roanoke. White then set off for England for supplies. But the Spanish Armada was threatening an attack on England and Queen Elizabeth forbade any ship from leaving England. And Walter Raleigh, who was funding the trip, had other priorities. So, the supply ship and Governor White took 3 years to return to Roanoke.
In 1590 White found no one except for clues. The name of a local Indian tribe was written on a tree and wooden post. They had made an agreement that if the settlers left Roanoke, they would write down the name of the place. The settlers had excellent relations with that tribe. White wanted to go to the site but a storm damaged the ship’s anchors and the captain refused to search and returned to England. White never made it back and it wasn’t until 1607 that England settlers in Jamestown would land in Virginia.
The were other clues but nothing has been substantiated. Some white settlers were reportedly killed by an Indian attack leaving only 7 survivors near the Chesapeake Bay. Another clue was left by White with a star drawn on a map about 50 miles into the North Carolina mainland. Some English artifacts were found there but dating isn’t considered accurate enough to establish it belonged to the settlers.
So, there is no definitive answer to where they went and what happened to them. Too much time elapsed to tell if the settlers went to assimilate with the friendly Indians or whether they moved inland to establish a permanent settlement and were killed during an Indian attack.
In 1587 a second attempt was made to re-establish the settlement. The plan was to go to Roanoke temporarily and develop the permanent settlement further inland. The governor John White and 115 new settlers landed at Roanoke. White then set off for England for supplies. But the Spanish Armada was threatening an attack on England and Queen Elizabeth forbade any ship from leaving England. And Walter Raleigh, who was funding the trip, had other priorities. So, the supply ship and Governor White took 3 years to return to Roanoke.
In 1590 White found no one except for clues. The name of a local Indian tribe was written on a tree and wooden post. They had made an agreement that if the settlers left Roanoke, they would write down the name of the place. The settlers had excellent relations with that tribe. White wanted to go to the site but a storm damaged the ship’s anchors and the captain refused to search and returned to England. White never made it back and it wasn’t until 1607 that England settlers in Jamestown would land in Virginia.
The were other clues but nothing has been substantiated. Some white settlers were reportedly killed by an Indian attack leaving only 7 survivors near the Chesapeake Bay. Another clue was left by White with a star drawn on a map about 50 miles into the North Carolina mainland. Some English artifacts were found there but dating isn’t considered accurate enough to establish it belonged to the settlers.
So, there is no definitive answer to where they went and what happened to them. Too much time elapsed to tell if the settlers went to assimilate with the friendly Indians or whether they moved inland to establish a permanent settlement and were killed during an Indian attack.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2025
This book had alot of good information. At times I thought it was almost too much for the level of reading that it was intended for. The narrative was very slow also. I did gain knowledge for it even after studying about the lost colony in school, so I guess that is a plus!
July 22, 2025
I adore these easy to digest snippets of history! I feel like im learning something every time I listen to one!
May 24, 2025
Fun Fact about The Lost Colony of Roanoke.
A settlement founded in 1587 on Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina.
Virginia Dare was the first English child born in North America.
When Governor White returned in1590, ge found the Colony abandoned. He did find the word "Croation" craved into a post and the letters CRO" craved into a tree.
The Colony consisted of around 117 men, women and children.
Roanoke Island is about 8 miles long, 2 miles wide.
On August 16, 2022 the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge was opened. 435 years after the Roanoke Colony was established.
I have always been fascinated by the this story. I hope to one day visit the area.
A settlement founded in 1587 on Roanoke Island in present day North Carolina.
Virginia Dare was the first English child born in North America.
When Governor White returned in1590, ge found the Colony abandoned. He did find the word "Croation" craved into a post and the letters CRO" craved into a tree.
The Colony consisted of around 117 men, women and children.
Roanoke Island is about 8 miles long, 2 miles wide.
On August 16, 2022 the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge was opened. 435 years after the Roanoke Colony was established.
I have always been fascinated by the this story. I hope to one day visit the area.
May 4, 2025
I love this series! Such interesting topics! This one wasn't my favorite but I still thought it was presented well. I don't feel like there is as much mystery around the lost colony. I was really struck by the poor decisions and management of the expeditions by those in charge.
September 24, 2025
I am currently in my penultimate semester of my 2nd college degree and have to take a history class. While history was always One of my favourite subjects ans I was looking forward to this class, I am admittedly bored because A) I do not care nor have I ever cared about The Lost Colony of Roanoake and B) this class is 100% not necessary for Me to become an attorney, which is not ultimate goal.
While I fo find Native American history fascinating, it was not touched on a lot in school growing up in the 90s and 2000s atleast not when you're part pf the New York City Public School System where all you're taught about are the fictionalized accounts of The First Thanksgiving and Pocahontas/Jamestown, while things like Roanoake are only a footnote and not even an accurate one.
I think it's pretty obvious what happened to the people there especially because they agreed upon with John White that they'd leave a message of what happened or where to find them for when he returned and they should put a cross with the message if it meant danger.
In, "Everything You Need to Ace U.S. History in One Big Fat Notebook" and the History's Mysteries episode on the topic, that's what was decided upon by all. But it seems to me that John White and the millions of people since, particularly historians and archeologists lack one thing: common sense.
Which is probably the most irritating part about this whole Roanoke "mystery".
Allow me to clarify, the majority of this book and literally anything else you'll find on the topic clarifies that the colonists and the Native tribes had issues, usually major ones but the Croatoans and the colonists got alot for the most part. In recent times, it was more or less confirmed that when people found decendants of those Croatoans, some of them had gray eyes and European or obviously mixed race features.
They even said that despite being Native and living among the Natives, they read English.
Put that together with the agreed upon message and what do you have? The colonists believes that John White would return in 6 months, and with already dwindling supplies, land they could barely farm and near constant attacks by non-Croatoan Natives, what could they possibly do? perhaps they did wait the agreed upon time. But in 6 months when John did not return, they obviously went to live on Croatoa with the Natives there, their only allies. Eventually, they intermarried, had children and assimilated as best they could, hence why they had decendents with mixed features and gray eyes.
As far as the messages on the tree and the fence post go, hear me out. The tree has always been shown to either be too small or too difficult to write on. and "CROATOA" and ""CROATOAN" are not exactly small words. So starting on a tree and realizing this leading to them writing on a fence instead makes sense. this explains why the word is complete there and not on the tree. Also, the agreed upon cross is not there. on either one. so what does that say?
The cross was supposed to symbolize danger and surely a cross is quicker to carve than a word that is 7 or 8 letters long.
so.....wouldn't it make sense to carve the cross first even if you can't get the whole word out??
if you're in danger......how long can you carve before the enemy notices what you're doing?? so the cross alone is probably the furthest you can go.
But there was no cross with either message. Therefore I surmise that not only was there no immediate danger ad far as attacks from Natives, but that they went willingly to live on Croatoa with the Croatoans which explains the decendants who look mixed and can read English.
They simply ran out of food/supplies within the 6 months John was SUPPOSED to be gone and left. For all they knew, John had died on the way back to England or died there after arriving or maybe John just forgot about them. what did they know They? Nothing. They had no way of knowing and John had no way of telling them that the Queen had halted all ships and supplies to fund the war with the Spanish Armada. They had no way of knowing that their direct patron, Sir Walter Raleigh was given lands in Ireland and was tasked by the Queen to build up a Colony in Ireland. I mean Ireland is way closer to her than Roanoake so why would she really bothered with a Colony thats already failing and she will never visit on the other side of the world???
They were never found because John never went to Croatoa to look for them, to his credit, he tried but it never occurred to them to just do it on his own and not listen to anyone or to just stay there and live among the Natives until he figured out how to get to Croatoa. Honestly if he had a horse it probably would of been easier. Or maybe if he hadn't been a jerk to the Natives prior to leaving they would of helped him.
He was gone 3 years, what else would you have done???
I feel it's obvious. So I guess because it was obvious, It's something that is common sense and therefore I never saw it as a big deal or a grand mystery.
LW.
While I fo find Native American history fascinating, it was not touched on a lot in school growing up in the 90s and 2000s atleast not when you're part pf the New York City Public School System where all you're taught about are the fictionalized accounts of The First Thanksgiving and Pocahontas/Jamestown, while things like Roanoake are only a footnote and not even an accurate one.
I think it's pretty obvious what happened to the people there especially because they agreed upon with John White that they'd leave a message of what happened or where to find them for when he returned and they should put a cross with the message if it meant danger.
In, "Everything You Need to Ace U.S. History in One Big Fat Notebook" and the History's Mysteries episode on the topic, that's what was decided upon by all. But it seems to me that John White and the millions of people since, particularly historians and archeologists lack one thing: common sense.
Which is probably the most irritating part about this whole Roanoke "mystery".
Allow me to clarify, the majority of this book and literally anything else you'll find on the topic clarifies that the colonists and the Native tribes had issues, usually major ones but the Croatoans and the colonists got alot for the most part. In recent times, it was more or less confirmed that when people found decendants of those Croatoans, some of them had gray eyes and European or obviously mixed race features.
They even said that despite being Native and living among the Natives, they read English.
Put that together with the agreed upon message and what do you have? The colonists believes that John White would return in 6 months, and with already dwindling supplies, land they could barely farm and near constant attacks by non-Croatoan Natives, what could they possibly do? perhaps they did wait the agreed upon time. But in 6 months when John did not return, they obviously went to live on Croatoa with the Natives there, their only allies. Eventually, they intermarried, had children and assimilated as best they could, hence why they had decendents with mixed features and gray eyes.
As far as the messages on the tree and the fence post go, hear me out. The tree has always been shown to either be too small or too difficult to write on. and "CROATOA" and ""CROATOAN" are not exactly small words. So starting on a tree and realizing this leading to them writing on a fence instead makes sense. this explains why the word is complete there and not on the tree. Also, the agreed upon cross is not there. on either one. so what does that say?
The cross was supposed to symbolize danger and surely a cross is quicker to carve than a word that is 7 or 8 letters long.
so.....wouldn't it make sense to carve the cross first even if you can't get the whole word out??
if you're in danger......how long can you carve before the enemy notices what you're doing?? so the cross alone is probably the furthest you can go.
But there was no cross with either message. Therefore I surmise that not only was there no immediate danger ad far as attacks from Natives, but that they went willingly to live on Croatoa with the Croatoans which explains the decendants who look mixed and can read English.
They simply ran out of food/supplies within the 6 months John was SUPPOSED to be gone and left. For all they knew, John had died on the way back to England or died there after arriving or maybe John just forgot about them. what did they know They? Nothing. They had no way of knowing and John had no way of telling them that the Queen had halted all ships and supplies to fund the war with the Spanish Armada. They had no way of knowing that their direct patron, Sir Walter Raleigh was given lands in Ireland and was tasked by the Queen to build up a Colony in Ireland. I mean Ireland is way closer to her than Roanoake so why would she really bothered with a Colony thats already failing and she will never visit on the other side of the world???
They were never found because John never went to Croatoa to look for them, to his credit, he tried but it never occurred to them to just do it on his own and not listen to anyone or to just stay there and live among the Natives until he figured out how to get to Croatoa. Honestly if he had a horse it probably would of been easier. Or maybe if he hadn't been a jerk to the Natives prior to leaving they would of helped him.
He was gone 3 years, what else would you have done???
I feel it's obvious. So I guess because it was obvious, It's something that is common sense and therefore I never saw it as a big deal or a grand mystery.
LW.
October 8, 2025
A look at the history and mysteries surrounding the colony of Roanoke that disappeared from an island off the coast of what would eventually be the Carolinas in the 1590s.
I’ve read a couple other books on the lost colony of Roanoke and this included several bits of information that I had never heard before, like that the colony was actually planning to move inland and had made plans with the governor to leave a sign about where they headed. I was curious when and how they figured this out (was it a letter recently uncovered?). There is a bibliography but it doesn’t say what factoids were from which book so I need to do my own further research. The way this book presents the “mystery” doesn’t make it as mysterious as some others. This makes it seem like they moved like planned but White didn’t have a chance to find out if they went where they had planned to and then later no one knew for sure if they made it to the planned location or not. That’s a lot less mysterious than him coming back, finding a cryptic message, and never being able to find them. Interesting to learn, though.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Ongoing battles and violent misunderstandings/anger between the native tribes and the British and Spanish are related and the tragic deaths that resulted. They don’t go into graphic detail, just mentions how many or who was killed. Also mentions deaths from disease, hunger, shipwreck, and other dangers of the time period.
Ethnic diversity: White British, Native Americans from several different tribes, Spanish.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Racial prejudice is mentioned.
I’ve read a couple other books on the lost colony of Roanoke and this included several bits of information that I had never heard before, like that the colony was actually planning to move inland and had made plans with the governor to leave a sign about where they headed. I was curious when and how they figured this out (was it a letter recently uncovered?). There is a bibliography but it doesn’t say what factoids were from which book so I need to do my own further research. The way this book presents the “mystery” doesn’t make it as mysterious as some others. This makes it seem like they moved like planned but White didn’t have a chance to find out if they went where they had planned to and then later no one knew for sure if they made it to the planned location or not. That’s a lot less mysterious than him coming back, finding a cryptic message, and never being able to find them. Interesting to learn, though.
Notes on content:
Language: None
Sexual content: None
Violence: Ongoing battles and violent misunderstandings/anger between the native tribes and the British and Spanish are related and the tragic deaths that resulted. They don’t go into graphic detail, just mentions how many or who was killed. Also mentions deaths from disease, hunger, shipwreck, and other dangers of the time period.
Ethnic diversity: White British, Native Americans from several different tribes, Spanish.
LGBTQ+ content: None specified
Other: Racial prejudice is mentioned.
May 29, 2025
This has always been a part of American history that fascinated me—where did the people from Roanoke go? Then, a few months ago, I heard about a man who was studying the map and discovered that a piece of it had been covered up.
Part of me thinks that the settlers mixed and mingled with the Native Americans in the area instead of being completely killed off.
I also had no idea that John White had accidentally landed on a different island on his return trip. To think that he never got to see his daughter or granddaughter again makes me so sad.
I didn’t know that people had used baby Virginia’s name as a means for racist gains, which also saddens me she was just a child and not someone that asked to be the first English child or white child born on American soil so for people to misuse her name for racial political agendas is sickening to me.
Overall, I think this book is not only good for children but also valuable for adults who want to learn something new.
Part of me thinks that the settlers mixed and mingled with the Native Americans in the area instead of being completely killed off.
I also had no idea that John White had accidentally landed on a different island on his return trip. To think that he never got to see his daughter or granddaughter again makes me so sad.
I didn’t know that people had used baby Virginia’s name as a means for racist gains, which also saddens me she was just a child and not someone that asked to be the first English child or white child born on American soil so for people to misuse her name for racial political agendas is sickening to me.
Overall, I think this book is not only good for children but also valuable for adults who want to learn something new.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2026
Another book read with my kid. I usually love the Who Was book series. We've read a few over the years. This was our first time trying a What Was book. In 4th grade, my kiddo will study the early colonies, so I thought this would be a nice entry to the topic. The book was fine. I definitely wanted more, but obviously it has to be whittled down a bit for kids. Not my favorite from the Who HQ though.
August 13, 2025
Mine will be the unpopular verdict, but this was political correctness malarkey in my opinion. 🙄 I have read DOZENS of books on this subject without ever being made to feel like a jerk because the English came to colonize over here. Hope this isn't indicative of the direction these history books are headed, because I have enjoyed many in the series.
January 13, 2026
This is among the best historical accounts for children that I have read (listened to in this case). It is an intense story, but told in such a way that the beginning of residence in our United States of America is explained even in its semi-ambiguity. It’s a fascinating story with just the right amount of facts.
April 11, 2025
There's quite a bit of facts and supposition here to unpack. I did learn a lot even though I've seen the play, The Lost Colony, live in Manteo. The NC connection made me want to dive into this. It's probably not going to be highly appealing to kids as it's a rather dry subject.
June 14, 2025
WhoHQ books with their wide range of subjects are perfect for elementary/middle school readers as well as go-to-books for reluctant readers. The Roanoke Colony mystery story is presented in an easy to follow narrative that holds one's interest.
October 13, 2025
This short and factual title takes an archeological look at the Lost Colony of Roanoke, offering up a very likely explanation while not shying away from the crimes of the English colonizers that likely led to the mystery.
May 17, 2025
I love this series and I did enjoy this, but I feel like I've heard a lot of other theories about Roanoke during my life that weren't included here.
July 15, 2025
This incident has always fascinated me and the deaths of natives is heartbreaking.
August 21, 2025
History was pretty good for the first few chapters. Political commentary ("white man = bad") for the last chapter or two was unnecessary and annoying.
November 19, 2025
I know it’s a kid’s book but I have always found historical mysteries interesting.
June 26, 2026
I enjoyed every chapter!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews