Lameshure Bay Estate of the 1950s

Consolidation of properties has always played a huge role in the ownership of estates on St. John. By the late 1700s, we have seen that what we now think of as the Lameshur Estate was, in fact, composed of multiple former estates–consisting of something less than 500 acres. This same consolidation continued right up through the mid-1900s.

According to the research of Crystal Fortwangler, after the ownership of the estate by Count Castinskjold from 1904-1920, there was a quick succession of owners. This was followed by the acquisition of the property by Herman O. Creque in 1922. He held the property until his death in the late 1940s, at which time title was transferred to his wife, Ms. Emily Creque.

It was Ms. Emily Creque who sold the Lameshur Estate, now consisting of some 1,433 acres and composed of Bordeaux #5, Cabrite Horn #1, Great and Little Lameshur #2 & #3, Hope #5, Misgunst #6 and Paquerau #7 to Frank Stick in May of 1953.

Actually, Frank Stick never officially owned the Lameshur Estate. Title to the property was held in the name of David Stick, Frank Stick’s son, and his wife Phyllis. However, David explains that he and his wife simply served as a “strawman” and ownership rested with his father and four business partners, all stateside friends.

On January 1, 1955, the 1,433 acres of the Lameshur Estate was transferred to the Jackson Hole Preserve, Inc., the non-profit conservation entity of the Rockefeller family. Finally, on November 21, 1956, this land was transferred to the United States Department of Interior as a part of the establishment of the Virgin Islands National Park, our Nation’s 29th national park.