The New Fort in Virginia / Virginia Dare

In July-August 1585 (O.S.), colonists sent from England by Sir Walter Raleigh built a fort here that they called “The New Fort in Virginia.” They were the first settlers of the English race in America and returned to England in July 1586 with Sir Francis Drake. Near this place, on August 18, 1587, Virginia Dare was born, the first child of English parents born in America, the daughter of Ananias Dare and Eleanor White, members of another band of colonists sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1587. On Sunday, August 20, 1587, Virginia Dare was baptized, and Manteo, the friendly chief of the Hatteras Indians, had been baptized on the preceding Sunday. These baptisms were the first known celebrations of a Christian sacrament in the territory of the thirteen original United States.

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina · United States