Manteo on Roanoke Island

. . . The History . . .

The town is named for a Native American named Manteo, who was of the Croatans tribe of American Indians. Manteo had been "civilized" by the English during a trip to London in 1584 where he and another native, Wanchese, learned to become the liaison between the Roanoke Colony settlers and the Indians, and had favorable interaction with British colonist John White.

In fact, Manteo was christened and given the name Lord of Roanoke, making him the first Native American to receive a title of nobility. Eventually, John White's daughter Eleanor married Ananias Dare, and they had the first American born English child, Virginia Dare. In 1587, Manteo was friendly to White when he returned to find what the final stage of the Roanoke Colony became. When the colonists disappeared after supplies from England were delayed for three years, the ongoing mystery of "The Lost Colony" began.

The "Lost" colony was established by Richard Grenville, who brought back two native Indians, one of them Manteo. Manteo was named the seat of government for Dare County in 1870, and was incorporated in 1899.

Manteo's most famous resident is the actor Andy Griffith, who lives with his wife Cindi on a secluded compound on the northeastern shore of Roanoke Island about one mile north of the actual city limits. Dare County is named for Virginia Dare.

. . . Around Manteo . . .