Fort Raleigh National Historic Site was established on April 5, 1941, through a transfer of property to the National Park Service under a cooperative agreement with the Roanoke Island Historical Association (RIHA) and Acting Secretary of the Interior Alvin J. Wirtz, using authority provided under the Historic Sites Act of 1935. As with all historic areas administered by the National Park Service, the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Fort Raleigh is co-managed with two other Outer Banks parks, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and is the location of the group headquarters at the northern end of Roanoke Island. The cooperative agreement of 1941 allows RIHA to stage theatrical performances in the Waterside Theatre also on park property. Paul Green's play, "The Lost Colony," has been performed at this theater, with an interlude during World War II, since 1937. The site was preserved for its national significance in relation to the founding of the first English settlement in North America in 1587. However, the colony, which was promoted and backed by entrepreneurs led by Englishman Sir Walter Raleigh, failed sometime between 1587 and 1590 when supply ships failed to arrive on time and for reasons still unknown.
