Lost Colony
Disappeared without trace
Lost Colony refers to the English settlement established in 1587 on Roanoke Island (present-day North Carolina) that vanished without clear explanation.
When supply ships returned in 1590, the colonists had disappeared, leaving only the word "CROATOAN" carved on a post.
The mystery of their fate—absorption into Native American tribes, starvation, massacre—has never been definitively solved.
The term now serves as shorthand for any group or venture that vanishes inexplicably: The startup became a lost colony—everyone just scattered.
- RoanokeVirginia city or vanished colony
- American folkloreTraditional tales of America
- North CarolinaSoutheastern Atlantic coast state
- Outer BanksCoastal Carolina barrier islands
- PlymouthEnglish port city
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Lost ColonyJamestown
First permanent English settlement
Plymouth Rock · colonial capital · New Amsterdam · Quebec City · St. Augustine
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