History’s greatest mystery
Published 12:20 pm Thursday, April 21, 2016
At a meeting in Windsor last June, Brent Lane of the First Colony Foundation displays an old map of eastern North Carolina that archeologists now believe may hold the key of where members of the famed Lost Colony may have moved inland to Bertie County. | File Photos by Gene Motley
WINDSOR – Think you might be related to one of the original Lost Colonists? This weekend you may have a chance to find out.
The first of what organizers hope will be an annual Lost Colony Festival will take place here Saturday (April 23) at the Roanoke/Cashie River Center located at 112 W. Water Street.
The all-day affair (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) will feature the raising of a longhouse (the original residences of Native Americans in the 16th century), construction of a dug-out canoe, 1500’s era pottery and basket making, displays of Native American arrowheads, lectures by archeologists and historians, pontoon boat rides on the Cashie River, and a chance for locals to trace their genealogy to see if they might be related to the 117 members of the ‘Lost Colony’.
Archeologist Bly Straube displays some of the pottery artifacts from the excavation at the probable Roanoke colony’s Bertie County site near Salmon Creek. Joining her is Nick Luccketti, an FCF research archeologist (right).
If you’re scratching your head wondering why Windsor instead of on the Outer Banks, let’s catch you up on history: recently discovered evidence in the search for the famed Lost Colony points to Bertie County as where the settlers of the Roanoke Island colony ended up in the late 16th century.
118 colonists bound for the Chesapeake Bay region stopped at the site in what is now Dare County in 1587. They resided at Roanoke Island for three years, during which time Virginia Dare became the first English child born in the New World. When the organizers returned to the island, all human life had disappeared with nothing remaining by the word “Croatoan” carved into a tree.
It’s believed the group moved inland to escape hostile Native Americans and recently-found artifacts in Bertie County indicate at least part of the colony may have ended up there along the banks of the Albemarle Sound.
“At 10:30 we’ll have the first of three lecture presentations,” said Joe Huff, director of the River Center. “Dr. Randy Daniels, Archeology Department Chairman from East Carolina University, will be discussing Native American culture of the 16th century.”
Also slated to appear will be Clay Swindell from the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City and the First Colony Foundation to tell how the colony ended up in Bertie County; he’ll be joined along with Nick Luccketti, archeologist with First Colony in Jamestown, VA, demonstrating how precious artifacts have been excavated here in the local area.
From nearby Hertford, the “Miss-P”, the periauger (a flat-bottomed wooden sailboat popular in colonial times), will be on display in the River Center parking lot, and Heber Coltrain of Roanoke Outdoor Adventures in Williamston, a living encyclopedia of the Cashie River and the immediate area, will spin tales about local Native American history during pontoon rides.
“For now it’s the Lost Colony Display,” said Billy Smithwick, one of the Festival organizers. “It will be officially opened at the River Center on Saturday and we hope it’ll be here for a long time. Once completed we will have a replica Native American village on display outdoors as a permanent part of the River Center. It’s just going to take a while for us to get everything done.
“This is a fun, free, educational event, and you can pick out what you want to participate in,” concluded Smithwick. “It’s more than just a lecture; it will be a chance to experience early Bertie County hands-on.”