Wanchese ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) on Roanoke Island in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. It was named after Wanchese, the last known ruler of the Roanoke Native American tribe encountered by English colonists in the sixteenth century. As of the 2020 census, Wanchese had a population of 1,522. Today, Wanchese is the center of commercial fishing and boatbuilding on the Outer Banks.
The residents of Wanchese are governed by the Dare County Board of Commissioners. Wanchese is part of District 1, along with Manteo, Roanoke Island and Manns Harbor .
Geography
Wanchese is located at , and on the southern end of Roanoke Island.
According to the United States, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (14.26%) is water.
History
Also see: History of Roanoke Island
Archeological evidence shows that Wanchese was the site of the first fishing village on Roanoke Island. Indigenous people inhabited the area 1500 years ago, and their various cultures used this site for fishing for 1100 years. They also collected oysters and shellfish from nearby beds in the Sound.
What is called the Tillett Site (after the last owners) had been occupied originally when it was still part of the mainland, during the entire Archaic Period (8000-1000 BC). After the sea levels rose and it became an island, the saline conditions of the Sound became established, giving rise to the later indigenous fishing culture, including that of the historic Roanoke tribe. In the 1980s, it was to be redeveloped for a major commercial fishing port and seafood processing facility.
2020 census
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Wanchese racial composition
!scope="col"| Race
!scope="col"| Number
!scope="col"| Percentage
|-
!scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 1,342
| 88.17%
|-
!scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 14
| 0.92%
|-
!scope="row"| Native American
| 2
| 0.13%
|-
!scope="row"| Asian
| 4
| 0.26%
|-
!scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 63
| 4.14%
|-
!scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 97
| 6.37%
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,522 people, 683 households, and 488 families residing in the CDP.
2000 census
As of the census