Colonial North Carolina
Virginia Dare (1587 – ?)
Pre-1585
Virginia Dare was born on August 18, 1587 at Roanoke Island, Virginia (present-day North Carolina). Virginia Dare was the first English-born child in the Americas. She was daughter of Ananias and Eleanor Dare and the granddaughter of John White. As a member of the lost Roanoke Colony, Virginia Dare’s fate is unknown, but she has become an icon of American folklore.
Mother Vine
Known as the “oldest cultivated vine in America,” the Mother Vine on Roanoke Island is reportedly over 400 years old. Historians debate the exact age of the vine, and one claims that its history rests mainly on unsubstantiated yarns. But one thing is certain: no one knows of another vine in the United States older than the Mother Vine in Roanoke Island.
Roanoke Island
In 1584, 1585, and 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh funded expeditions to Roanoke Island. On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter allowing Raleigh to explore and occupy lands there.
Virginia Dare (1587 – ?)
Virginia Dare was born on August 18, 1587 at Roanoke Island, Virginia (present-day North Carolina). Virginia Dare was the first English-born child in the Americas. She was daughter of Ananias and Eleanor Dare and the granddaughter of John White. As a member of the lost Roanoke Colony, Virginia Dare’s fate is unknown, but she has become an icon of American folklore.