Fort Raleigh preserves the site of the Roanoke Colony, where English settlements founded in 1585 and 1587 became part of the enduring Lost Colony mystery after the colonists vanished before 1590, though many scholars believe they likely joined local Indigenous communities. The site also encompasses Roanoke Island’s Civil War-era Freedmen’s Colony, created after Union occupation and developed into a self-sustaining community for formerly enslaved people, with homes, work, schools, and military service. Established as a national historic site in 1941, Fort Raleigh also remains associated with The Lost Colony outdoor drama and with broader interpretation of colonization, emancipation, and historical memory on Roanoke Island.