Before the Jamestown and Plymouth colonies, Roanoke colony was set to be the first permanent English settlement in America. These plans failed after everyone in the colony mysteriously disappeared.

            In 1587, a group of about 115 colonists lead by John White sailed from England to set up a colony in America. John White was the appointed governor of the new colony. Some of the other colonists who left with White included his pregnant daughter, Elanor Dare, and her husband.

            Later in the year after they landed in America, it was decided that John White would return to England to obtain more supplies. He left behind his family, including his granddaughter, Virginia Dare who was the first English person born in America.  His return however, was delayed by the War against Spain. He could not get back to America until three years had passed.

            When he returned in 1590, he could not find any trace of the 115 colonists who he had left three years before, nor was there any sign of battle or struggle. The only clue as to where they could have happened was the word "Croatoan" carved into the palisade which surrounded the colony. Croatoan was the name of an island south of Roanoke, which was home to Native Americans of the same name. 

            There have been many theories as to what happened to the lost colonists. DNA testing was done in 2007 on the local families from the area to see if they were ancestors of the colonists, but it so far has failed to show any relation to the people of the lost colony. Another theory uses the word "Croatoan"as supporting evidence and states that they were possibly killed or abducted by Native Americans. Another guess as to what happened to them is that they attempted to sail back to England on their own and did not succeed. In 1998, archeologists used data found from tree rings around the area in Virginia and determined that severe drought conditions lasted from 1587 to 1589. This information helps support the theory that the colonists moved away from the area but does not tell what would have happened to them after.

            A series of stones supposedly written by Eleanor Dare, which were named the Dare stones, were found by a farmer in the surrounding area of the colony and told what happened to the colonists. Inspection of the stones showed that the spelling and styling of the words were non-Elizabethan and that all of the stone except for the first were carved with a drill press.  This leads many historians to believe they are fraud although some people believe that the first stone is real.

            Even though there had been many studies done to try to solve one of America's oldest mysteries, there has been no definite answer to the disappearance. Many theories exist trying to explain what happened to the colonists and although one of them may be correct, the mystery of the lost colony will probably have no definite answer.