Debrum House | |
Location | Likiep Island, Likiep Atoll, Marshall Islands |
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Coordinates | 9°49′21″N169°18′23″E / 9.82250°N 169.30639°E Coordinates: 9°49′21″N169°18′23″E / 9.82250°N 169.30639°E |
Built | 1888 |
Built by | deBrum, Joachim |
NRHP reference No. | 76002160 [1] |
Added to NRHP | September 30, 1976 |
The Joachim DeBrum House, known simply as the DeBrum House and also spelled Debrum House or De Brum House, located on Likiep Island, of Likiep Atoll, in the Marshall Islands, is a plantation house that was built in 1888 by Joachim deBrum. It was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1976, [1] making it the first NRHP site in Micronesia. [2]
Because the climate of Palau quickly deteriorates wooden structures, the Debrum House is significant as the only tropical plantation home surviving in the Marshall Islands or in all of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It is associated with the "history of German and Japanese occupations, colonization, World War II and the early Post War Periods." [3]
Joachim DeBrum was a Marshallese merchant, engineer, and scientist. He was the son of Portuguese merchant José Anton DeBrum. Together with Adolph Capelle, DeBrum purchased Likiep Atoll from his Marshallese wife's chief, Iroij Elap Jortaka during the 1870s. Joachim finished the house by 1888. During the German colonization period, it was one of the largest houses on Likiep Atoll. [4] He furnished the house with imports from the United States, Germany, and across Asia. [3] It was lived in by the deBrum family until 1947, at which point it became vacant and cared for by local caretakers. [2]
The DeBrum House was destroyed a few years ago, and all that is left is a few remnants of the foundation.[ citation needed ]
The Debrum House was finished in 1888 as a small, single-story frame building on concrete piers, with a high-pitched thatch roof. DeBrum designed the building in a mixture of German and traditional Marshallese architectural styles. It originally contained only one 19-by-19-foot central parlor and two 13-foot-by-19-foot bedrooms off this main chamber. Although it originally sat about 18 inches off the ground, at some point it was raised to a heigh of six feet. The original floors, external walls, and only the interior walls of the parlor were made of California redwood. The entire structure was surrounded by a covered veranda. In 1929, the original thatch roof was replaced with metal sheeting. By the 1970s, the house was quickly deteriorating and underwent major renovations in 1977 and 1984. A new metal roof and supports were installed, and the redwood floors and walls were replaced. Nearby are a storage building, a detached dining room-kitchen, several cisterns, the family graveyard, and the remains of several structures that have since collapsed. [3] [4]
Most of the furniture in the house was well-preserved. Most furnishings were made of teak that had been imported from China. These pieces were intricately decorated and carved, sometimes including marble or ivory inlays. The house also contained over 1,000 books from DeBrum's personal library and research, and sound recordings believed to be some of the earliest taken in Micronesia. [4]
The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an independent island country near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of 58,413 people is spread out over five islands and 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The capital and largest city is Majuro. It has the largest portion of its territory composed of water of any sovereign state, at 97.87%. The islands share maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and Federated States of Micronesia to the west. About 52.3% of Marshall Islanders live on Majuro. In 2016, 73.3% of the population were defined as being "urban". The UN also indicates a population density of 760 inhabitants per square mile (295/km2), and its projected 2020 population is 59,190.
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.
Micronesians settled the Marshall Islands in the 2nd millennium BC, but there are no historical or oral records of that period. Over time, the Marshallese people learned to navigate over long ocean distances by canoe using traditional stick charts.
Kwajalein Atoll is part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking residents often use the shortened name, Kwaj. The total land area of the atoll amounts to just over 6 square miles (16 km2). It lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
Ailinglaplap or Ailinglapalap is a coral atoll of 56 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain in the Marshall Islands. It is located 152 kilometres (94 mi) northwest of Jaluit Atoll. Its total land area is only 14.7 square kilometres (5.7 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon of 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi). The economy of the atoll is dominated by coconut plantations. The population of the atoll was 1,729 in 2011. Jabat Island is located off the coast of Ailinglaplap Atoll. The former president of the Marshall Islands, Kessai Note, was born on Jeh Island, Ailinglaplap Atoll.
The Marshallese language, also known as Ebon, is a Micronesian language spoken in the Marshall Islands. The language is spoken by nearly all of the roughly 59,000 people in the Marshall Islands, making it the principal language of the country. There are also roughly 27,000 Marshallese residents living in the United States, nearly all of whom speak Marshallese, as well as in other countries including Nauru.
Amata Kabua was the first President of the Marshall Islands from 1979 until his death in 1996.
Ailuk Atoll is a coral atoll of 57 islets in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is located approximately 72 kilometres (45 mi) north from Wotje. Its total land area is only 5.4 square kilometres (2.1 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon with an area of 177.45 square kilometres (68.51 sq mi). The major islets are: Ajelep, Aliej, Ailuk, Alkilwe, Barorkan, Biken, Enejabrok, Enejelar, Kapen and Marib. Most of the islets are on the eastern side of the atoll. The western and southern sides of the atoll have a nearly continuous submerged coral reef, with three main passes that lead into the lagoon: Erappu Channel, Marok Channel and Eneneman Channel on the west side.
Ebon Atoll is a coral atoll of 22 islands in the Pacific Ocean, forming a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area is 5.75 square kilometres (2.22 sq mi), and it encloses a deep lagoon with an area of 104 square kilometres (40 sq mi). A winding passage, the Ebon Channel, leads to the lagoon from the southwest edge of the atoll. Ebon Atoll is approximately 155 kilometres (96 mi) south of Jaluit, and it is the southernmost land mass of the Marshall Islands, on the southern extremity of the Ralik Chain. In documents and accounts from the 1800s, it was also known as Boston, Covell's Group, Fourteen Islands, and Linnez.
Likiep Atoll is a coral atoll of 65 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) northwest of Wotje. Its total land area is only 10.26 square kilometres (3.96 sq mi), but that encloses a deep central lagoon of 424 square kilometres (164 sq mi). Likiep Atoll also possesses the Marshall Islands' highest point, an unnamed knoll 10 metres (33 ft) above sea level. The population of Likiep Atoll was 401 in 2011.
Utirik Atoll or Utrik Atoll is a coral atoll of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only 2.4 square kilometres (0.94 sq mi), but it encloses a lagoon with an area of 57.7 square kilometres (22.29 sq mi). It is located approximately 47 kilometres (29 mi) east of Ujae Atoll. The population of Utirik Atoll is 300-400 as of 2020. it is one of the northernmost Marshall Islands with permanent habitation.
Ujelang Atoll is a coral atoll of 30 islands in the Pacific Ocean, in the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is 1.86 square kilometres (0.72 sq mi), and it encloses a lagoon of 185.94 square kilometres (71.79 sq mi). It is the westernmost island in the Marshall Islands, approximately 217 kilometres (135 mi) southeast of Enewetak, and approximately 600 kilometres (370 mi) west of the main Ralik Chain.
Bikar Atoll is an uninhabited atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is one of the smallest atolls in the Marshalls. Due to its relative isolation from the main islands in the group, Bikar's flora and fauna has been able to exist in a relatively pristine condition.
Mejit is an island in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Unlike most of the other islands of the Marshall Islands, Mejit is a stony island rather than a coral atoll, although it is surrounded by a fringing coral reef enclosing a narrow lagoon. It is located east of the main line of the Ratak chain, approximately 110 kilometres (68 mi) northeast from Wotje.
Jemo Island Atoll is an uninhabited coral island in the Pacific Ocean, in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands north-east of Likiep Atoll. The island is oval-shaped and occupies the southwestern end of a narrow submarine ridge that extends to the northeast for several kilometers. Its total land area is only 0.16 square kilometres (0.062 sq mi). The island is traditionally held as a food reserve for the family of Joachim and Lijon deBrum, passed down to Lijon debrum from Iroijlaplap Lobareo and is owned by the current Likiep land-owning families of Joachim and Lijon debrum, grandkids of Iroijlaplap Jortõka of Ratak Eañ. There is also a shipwreck of unknown origin on the west side of the island.
Toke Atoll or Taka Atoll is a small, uninhabited coral atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is one of the smaller atolls in the Marshalls and located at 11°17′N169°37′E. It is visited regularly by the residents of nearby Utirik Atoll.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Marshall Islands.
Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands was spurred on by Japanese trade in the Pacific region. The first Japanese explorers arrived in the Marshall Islands in the late 19th century, although permanent settlements were not established until the 1920s. As compared to other Micronesian islands in the South Seas Mandate, there were fewer Japanese who settled in the islands. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese populace were repatriated to Japan, although people of mixed Japanese–Marshallese heritage remained behind. They form a sizeable minority in the Marshall Islands' populace, and are well represented in the corporate, public and political sectors in the country.
Alele Museum & Public Library is the National Museum and the National Archive of the Marshall Islands. It also hosts the only public library in the country.
Tony deBrum was a Marshallese politician and government minister.