Stories to tell
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is rich with imaginary echoes of the Lost Colony.
Roanoke Island, North Carolina, September 2013
“With thousands of years of human habitation, this land surely has stories to tell. The trees rustle with whispers of those who have come and gone.” — from a display at the Visitor’s Center at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
Recently Jeff and I visited beautiful Roanoke Island, North Carolina, the site of the mysterious “Lost Colony.” Encountering such unanswered questions of history, it’s easy to let imagination take flight as surely as the Wright brothers’ plane did at nearby Kill Devil Hills. The sylvan enchantment of the grounds around Fort Raleigh are especially captivating for those of us who are inclined to create mental pictures to fill in the gaps left by the information engraved on historic markers.
Have you ever visited a place rich with history and felt some intangible sense of what happened there in years past? Do you love to read historical novels that take up where the often debatable “facts” of history leave off? Touring a spot that has stories to tell, whether it’s a modest home built centuries ago or the ruins of an ancient city, helps me step out of my own circumstances and breathe in the richly textured nuances left behind in whatever remains or has been re-created. As with all forms of travel, visiting another era gives me perspective on my own struggles, helping me see my life with newly appreciative eyes.
If traveling to a geographically distant place is not possible for you anytime soon, try taking a vacation to a bygone era. No matter where you live, you will be close enough to such a place to make a daytime visit there and be back in our own time by evening. You won’t need to pack anything except maybe a camera, but do bring along your imagination. Those of you who are experienced time travelers, share some of your flights of fancy with us!
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: haunted, historic sites, history, imagination, landmarks, Lost Colony, mystery, parks, Roanoke, the past
Defeat Despair 
I am sure you have heard about Molbac? the red haired intrepid voyager from Scotland. And the mysterious stone wall up on Fort Mountain park(sp)? There are Indian oral stories about this strange white man with flaming red hair. He would be -or could be or is the first european to step foot on the new world. We visited this park and hiked up the trail to see the mystery wall. Apparently the Cherokee did not build walls like this. And no one knows where it really came from.
And did you know Columbus was Jewish?
Never heard anything about anyone like that. But then, my knowledge of such things is quite limited. For example– no, I had no idea Columbus was Jewish. It doesn’t surprise me, but I simply never heard it.