FDR Speech Location - National Parks Gallery
On August 18, 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt helped commemorate the 350th anniversary of the 1587 Lost Colony by visiting the Lost Colony drama, and giving a speech at this location before the show.
Old Road From the Ferry Ramp - Public Domain image, National Parks Gal...
Now overgrown, this is the historic roadway from the 1920s ferry dock heading into the woods.
Old Ferry Ramp - National Parks Gallery
Before bridges tied the Outer Banks together, ferries connected the islands. This broken up rubble was the western ferry terminal ramp on Roanoke Island in the 1920s.
Tourist Attraction - Theatre and Building Construction
Modern-day Lost Colony building at the Waterside Theatre. Buildings built by the English on Roanoke Island were constructed using posts and waddle and daub—stick and mud walls!
Old Camp Wirth - National Parks Gallery
Ruins of Camp Wirth, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) camp from the 1930s, on north end of Roanoke Island. During the Great Depression, hundreds of unemployed men were given jobs here to aid in the recover... More
Channel Buoy and Historic Coastline
This channel buoy sitting four hundred yards out in the Albemarle Sound marks the coastline of the north end of Roanoke island in the 1580s, during the time of the three English explorations to the area.
Rising Waters, National Parks gallery
Like a twisted set of teeth, tree trunks stand awash in the brackish sound water surrounding Roanoke Island. As the water level rises around the island, more and more trees will be inundated.
Threatened Fresh-water Pond - Public Domain image, National Parks Gall...
As climate change raises water levels across the planet, low-lying areas like this freshwater pond on Roanoke Island will be compromised by intruding brackish sound water—changing the ecosystem.
Presidential Vantage Point - National Parks Gallery
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt watched The Lost Colony drama from the back-seat of his car, from this spot in the rear of the Waterside Theatre.
Site of Fort Huger - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Viewed from the north, this was the site of Fort Huger—largest of the Confederate forts on Roanoke Island during the Civil War. Nothing remains due to erosion.
Old Roadway - National parks scenic trails
Old roadway on Roanoke Island, which is similar to roadways that crisscrossed the island during the Civil War.
Attempts at Erosion Prevention - Public Domain image, National Parks G...
In an attempt to reduce erosion, Outer Bankers have utilized these sand fences, also known as groins, to reduce the wave action on the island.
Fragile Ecosystem, National Parks gallery
The fresh-water swamp on the northwestern corner of Roanoke Island is a fragile ecosystem on the point of destruction as brackish sound water encroaches.
National parks: Greenbrier - public domain image
Technically a cactus, Greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia) had many uses to Algonquian. The leaves could be boiled and used like spinach in food, while the roots could be pulverized into a thickening agent.
National parks: Osprey - public domain image
An osprey stands guard near its nest by the Albemarle Sound.
Maggie E. Dough - National Parks Gallery
Not all gravestones are created equal. This is the burial crypt of Maggie E. Dough (nee Meekins). A crypt is an above-ground burial protected by rocks or bricks.
Dough Cemetery, National Parks gallery
Tucked away on the north end of Roanoke Island is the Dough Family Cemetery, where several generations are buried together in this local family plot.