Grove Place, United States Virgin Islands | |
|---|---|
Village | |
| Country |  United States Virgin Islands |
| Island | Saint Croix |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
Grove Place is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. [1] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
It is so named from the original settlement. Estate Grove Place is a historic sugar plantation located in Prince Quarter, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is significant for its 19th century remains of typical buildings of a sugar plantation, including a factory, wagon depot, and chimney. The ruins of the factory are of architectural significance because of the classic revival details, the plan, the method of construction and the use of local building materials, all typical of sugar factories in the Virgin Islands at this period. The wagon depot is unique in its elaborate use of local materials in construction which clearly shows the amount of wealth connected with the estate.
The plantation was established in the early 1800s and produced sugar until the late 19th century. The factory ruins include a boiling room, engine room, and sugar mill. The wagon depot was used to store and transport sugar cane and other goods. The chimney was part of the steam mill that powered the factory.
Grove Place is one of the few remaining examples of a complete sugar plantation complex in the Virgin Islands. The site is also important for its architectural significance. The factory ruins and wagon depot are fine examples of the classic revival style, which was popular in the Virgin Islands in the 19th century.
The plantation is currently owned by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands and is managed by the Virgin Islands National Park. It is open to the public. for tours and educational programs.
Located just east of the ruins is a 250 year old Baobab of the genus Adansonia digitata. The trunk is approximately 20' in diameter. Originally imported from West Africa, it is the largest one of approximately 100 of its kind left on St. Croix. [2] It is on The Register of Champion Trees due to its size. There is a historic marker on site for the tree and 12 laborers burnt alive there for taking part in Queen Mary's Rebellion.
Across the street in front of a Gazebo is a memorial to early 20th century labor leader David Jackson. Jackson was a vocal advocate for civil rights in the Danish West Indies. He campaigned for the right to free speech and assembly, and for greater representation of the black population in the government. In 1917, he traveled to Denmark to lobby for the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States. He argued that this would lead to greater economic and political opportunities for the black population of the islands. [3]
The Danish West Indies or Danish Antilles or Danish Virgin Islands were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with 32 square miles (83 km2); Saint John with 19 square miles (49 km2); and Saint Croix with 84 square miles (220 km2). The islands have belonged to the United States since they were purchased in 1917. Water Island was part of the Danish West Indies until 1905, when the Danish state sold it to the East Asiatic Company, a private shipping company.
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States.
The Virgin Islands National Park is an American national park preserving about 60% of the land area of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands, as well as more than 5,500 acres of adjacent ocean, and nearly all of Hassel Island, just off the Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas harbor.
The St. George Village Botanical Garden is a botanical garden with arboretum located at 127 Estate St. George, Frederiksted, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is open daily except Christmas; an admission fee is charged.
Annaly is a settlement on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It is located in the northwest of the island, to the northeast of Frederiksted.
Catherineberg Sugar Mill Ruins is an historic site located in the Virgin Islands National Park, east of Cruz Bay on Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands. The ruins are an example of an 18th-century sugar and rum factory.
Cinnamon Bay Plantation is an approximately 300-acre (1.2 km2) property situated on the north central coast of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands adjacent to Cinnamon Bay. The land, part of Virgin Islands National Park, was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places on July 11, 1978. Archaeological excavations of the land document ceremonial activity of the Taínos, as well as historic remains of plantation ruins.
Reef Bay Sugar Factory Historic District is a historic section of Saint John, United States Virgin Islands located on the south central coast adjacent to Reef Bay. The land is the site of a sugar factory. The property was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on July 23, 1981.
Bethlehem Old Work is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It was set-up as one of the first plantations in the 1730s, and operated as the last sugar plantation on the island until the Bethlehem Central Factory closed in 1966.
Sugar production in the United States Virgin Islands was an important part of the economy of the United States Virgin Islands for over two hundred years. Long before the islands became part of the United States in 1917, the islands, in particular the island of Saint Croix, was exploited by the Danish from the early 18th century and by 1800 over 30,000 acres were under cultivation, earning Saint Croix a reputation as the "Garden of the West Indies". Since the closing of the last sugar factory on Saint Croix in 1966, the industry has become only a memory.
Green Kay is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. It is located 3.3 miles (5.3 km) east of Christiansted.
La Grange is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
Peters Rest is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The settlement originally formed around a sugar plantation.
Sion Hill is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix, in the United States Virgin Islands.
Whim is a settlement on the island of Saint Croix in the United States Virgin Islands.
Estate Little Princess is a historic plantation site located northwest of Christiansted in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It was first owned by governor Frederik Moth in 1738 and rests on 25 acres of land. As of 2011 the estate is under ownership of The Nature Conservancy and serves as headquarters for the Eastern Caribbean/Virgin Islands programs. The property has been turned into a nature preserve and historical tours are given as well. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 9, 1980.
Estate Judith's Fancy, subdistrict of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Christiansted is a former sugarcane plantation whose great house was built in 1733. Its surviving 3.6 acres (1.5 ha) property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The listing included six contributing sites.
Estate Grove Place, at Grove Place in the Northwest subdistrict near Frederiksted on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, is a historic plantation which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Slob Historic District, near Christiansted, Virgin Islands, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The listing included nine contributing buildings, three contributing structures, and a contributing site on 9 acres (3.6 ha).
Estate Rust-Op-Twist, situated near Christiansted on the island of Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, is a former colonial sugar plantation. It was a hub of sugar production from 1755 until the early 1900s, and is currently listed on the US National Register of Historic Places.
17°43′32″N64°49′22″W / 17.72556°N 64.82278°W
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