Within this section you will find over 100 articles which have appeared in publications of the Society, have been the subject of our hikes and wanderings and/or are simply of interest to anyone with a love of St. John and its rich history.
If you’d like to submit an article for consideration in a future newsletter or quarterly journal, please be aware of the following guidelines.
- Word count should be between 500-1,000 words. Articles longer than 1,000 words are accepted on a case-by-case basis, so please contact us in advance for pre-approval;
- Please single space after periods;
- Article should be concise, on topic, and most importantly, relate to V.I. or Danish West Indies history; and
- The article’s relevancy to St. John should be clear.
Please send articles to the attention of newsletter editor Andrea Milam at: ContactUs@StJohnHistoricalSociety.org.
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Feb 2007Exploring Lieven Marche Bay Estate Ruins
(By David Knight, summarized by Robin Swank) If you want to learn something new, take a hike!!! Many of the hikers who joined President David Knight on January 13th had visited Brown Bay, but only a few were previously aware of the Hermitage or Lieven Marche Estates, or of the earlier subsumed and less-documented estate houses and industrial plants that remain along the coral-strewn north…
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Jan 2007Mary’s Point Hike
(By David Knight, summarized by Robin Swank) SJHS President David Knight welcomed about thirty members to our December hike on Mary’s Point. We met at the Francis Boiling House on what was once the Betty’s Hope plantation, which straddles a strategic isthmus separating Mary’s Creek and Francis Bay. At the outset David informed us that he is going to lead us to several little-known estate…
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Jun 2006John Gottliff: The Man Behind Buddoe
Slavery in the Danish West Indies ended abruptly on July 3, 1848, contrary to the intentions of the Danish Government and Governor General Peter von Scholten. It ended because several thousand enslaved individuals on St. Croix staged a largely non-violent demonstration that forced a reluctant Peter von Scholten to proclaim freedom for all of the “unfree” on St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix. This,…
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Jun 2006St. John’s Week-long 4th of July Festivities Aren’t Just About United States Independence
Under considerable pressure from both home and abroad, in 1847 King Christian VIII of Denmark took the first cautious steps toward emancipation in the Danish West Indies islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. On July 28th, he proclaimed that all children born into slavery would from that day on be considered free, and that all unfree in the colony would become emancipated…
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Apr 2006St. John’s Indigo Years
(This article first appeared in the summer/fall 2004 edition of the Kapok Chronicles, the official [bi-yearly] newspaper of Virgin Islands National Park. Don Near, editor of the publication, is an Interpretive Ranger and has been with the Park for 21 years. We thank Don for allowing us to reprint his informative article.) The word indigo may conjure up a state of mind as in Duke…
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Apr 2006The Gibney Family
Eleanor Gibney’s maternal grandmother, Mildred Flagg of Boston, filmed home movies of her daughter and grandchildren on St. John on several visits to the island between 1947 and 1960. Robert and Nancy Gibney came to the West Indies from New York City in 1946. They were on their honeymoon, and planned to spend a few months in the islands. Nancy had quit her job as…
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Apr 2006The Boulon Family
(A presentation by Rafe Boulon, summarized by Vicki Bell) Rafe Boulon began his family story in the early 1900s when his great grandfather was a meteorologist in Puerto Rico. Rafe’s grandfather grew up in Puerto Rico and in 1927 purchased 100 acres for $5,000 which included Trunk Bay. Rafe’s father was born in Puerto Rico but grew up on St. John. His mother was born in…
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Mar 2006Establishment of the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP)
(A summary of the February 14th, 2006 presentation by Bruce Schoonover) This year being the 50th Anniversary of the VINP, it is a fitting time to recognize our nation’s 29th National Park. Congress passed the enabling legislation for the establishment of the VINP on August 2, 1956, and it was signed into law by President Eisenhower. Primarily, it provided that a minimum of 5,000 acres…
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Feb 2006The Annaberg School Ruins at Mary’s Creek
The ruins of the Annaberg School at Mary’s Creek are among the most significant historic sites on St. John. Not only are they a wonderful example of uniquely Danish-colonial architecture in the neoclassical style, but they are also a physical representation of the first effort to institute compulsory education throughout the Danish West Indies in 1839. Consequently, that makes the remains of the Territories schools…
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Feb 2006Quicklime – An Essential Material of the Colonial Period
(Editor’s Note: On March 25th, Society President, David Knight and Mr. Reggie Callwood will help us explore the ruins at Cinnamon Bay and review restoration work and techniques used by Mr. Callwood in the 1960s and 70s to stabilize and preserve historic sites throughout the National Park on St. John. As background, David has excerpted and expanded upon some passages from his book, Into The…
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Dec 2005Mr. Elroy Sprauve Describes His Early Christmas Holidays on St. John
(Compiled by Jan Frey) Mr. Sprauve was a young St. Johnian attending school at the Bethany School in Pastory in the 1940’s and Charlotte Amalie High School in St. Thomas in the early 1950’s. The entire villages’ holiday celebrations centered around church and school. There were two teachers for the approximately 50 students attending Bethany School. Mrs. Maud Samuel taught first through fourth grades, and…