Albemarle Tradewinds February 2016 Final Web

A VIRGINIA DARE STONE FOUND IN TYRRELL COUNTY??? ...
By Jimmy Fleming mrflemz@embarqmail.com
FACT OR FICTION?
Some years ago while researching old newspapers in our local library for some information on an article I was writing I found this jewel.
A headline from The Daily Advance, March 30, 1939, proclaiming: Headstone of Virginia Dare’s Grave Found In Tyrrell County? The
article read: Virginia Dare, first child of English speaking parents born in America, died at the age of 10 and was buried in Tyrrell County
if a stone now reposing in the living room of the home of Thomas B. Shallington, hardly two blocks east of the Tyrrell County
courthouse is authentic. The stone bears the following inscription: Virginia Dare ... B. August 17, 1587 ... D.1597 The letters, crudely
formed by holes punched in the hard and uneven surface of the flinty rock are barely legible, but stand out clearly when the holes are
joined with chalk. Tom Shallington, surveyor and native of Tyrrell County, and his son Billy found the stone, the central one of three, in
the old graveyard across Alligator Creek from Fort Landing, long since covered by the waters of that estuary of Alligator River. The stone
is about 26 inches long and weighs about 100 pounds. Tom Shallington, born in Alligator where the tradition that the Lost Colony came
over to Tyrrell from Dare has been current for generations, is confident that the old ballast stone is the headstone of Virginia Dare’s grave.
If the colonists had fled from the approach of the Spaniards, as Paul Green’s drama has it, what more natural direction would they have
went but west? If the colonists had fled west, it must be admitted that the first dry land that they would have found on the Carolina
mainland would have been in Tyrrell County. Along with the stone, Henry Alexander and Ben Spruill, reported observing coffins hewn
from trees in the old graveyard in Alligator Creek at low tide. They reported that the lids of the coffins were fastened on by wooden pins
such as those used by Sir Walter Raleigh’s colonists and other early settlers. This is just a brief excerpt from the very intriguing story from
the Daily Advance. The story had accompanying photos of the stone, Tom Shallington, and a map of the area where the stone was found.
I have heard that the stone was taken to a university in South Carolina to determine its authenticity and never returned. What a great story and just think of the
historical implications. This could confirm the rumors of white men to the far south of the Jamestown, Virginia colony when it was founded in 1607.
Fact or Fiction?
Since finding this article about The Dare Stone I have seen more information at http://nativeheritageproject.com/2013/12/08/the-dare-stones-1-through-48/ and
https://www.brenau.edu/news/docudrama-bolsters-dare-stone-credibility/. The History Channel has an episode of America Unearthed: The Mystery Of Roanoke
which touches on the Dare Stones and a documentary entitled Roanoke: Search For The Lost Colony which features local researcher Fred Willard. Unfortunately
none of these reference the stone said to have been found in Tyrrell County but does offer explanation of some 48 Dare Stones found around Albemarle Sound
and the one stone that can’t be discredited found in Chowan County. I hope this sparks your curiosity to get online and read about the Dare Stone controversy or
watch the History Channel’s shows to learn more about the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke and the Virginia Dare Stones.
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