(Editors note: Rafe is Chief, Division of Resource Management for the Virgin Islands National Park and one of our newest Board members.) I was born and live on St. John, USVI and have been living with Soldier (land hermit) crabs all my life. (Shown at left, without shell.) They are part of my every day life – in my pond getting a drink, around my
(A Presentation by Gaylord Sprauve, summarized by Jan Frey) March 31, 2005, marks the 88th anniversary of the acquisition of the Danish West Indies by the United States of America. It also marks the 140th anniversary of when this acquisition was first contemplated… It was in 1865, some fifty-plus years prior, the United States began discussions regarding this purchase. Gaylord Sprauve of St. Thomas was
March 31, 2005, marks the 88th anniversary of the acquisition of the Danish West Indies by the United States of America. It also marks the 140th anniversary of when this acquisition was first contemplated… It was in 1865, some fifty-plus years prior, the United States began discussions regarding this purchase. In 1865, it was the Confederacy’s use of the Danish West Indies as a coaling
The U.S. Virgin Islands’ first civilian Governor, Paul M. Pearson, served from 1931 to 1935. A Quaker college educator from Philadelphia who had organized and managed the traveling Swarthmore Chautauqua, Governor Pearson initiated a number of programs that were intended to improve the depressed economy of the territory and the cultural life of its citizens. In addition to building the first tourist hotel in the
(By Leif Calundann Larson, summarized by Jan Frey) Leif Calundann Larsen, author of the 1986 book The Danish Colonization of St. John, 1718 –1733, was the featured speaker at our February meeting at the Bethany Moravian Church. He outlined for the group the early history of the West Indies and Danish efforts in the late 1600s, and early 1700s, to establish a presence on St. Thomas
After the collapse of the plantation system, a new era on St. John emerged, often described as a “broad-based provisioning economy.” It included a diversified agricultural economy, subsistence farming, craft industries, small-scale forest industry, and cattle estates. Although only a few people owned most of the land and hired others to work for them, the emerging communities acquired small lots purchased, transferred, or gifted from
(A Presentation by Per Nielsen, summarized by Jan Frey) We continue our report on the speakers at our December meeting. Here we review the presentation of Professor Per Neilsen of the University of Copenhagen. Fifteen years ago Per Neilsen began studying the life of John Wright and on December 3rd he shared his findings with the St. John Historical Society. John Wright was an important
When the first Europeans landed on St. John, did they see a dramatically different landscape and vegetation from what we observe now? In the absence of detailed reports from that time, we have to make a lot of educated guesses. The early accounts that do exist are often misleading, perhaps due to the same kind of confusion of plant names that still exists today. Although
“I remember how we prepared for and celebrated the holidays,” Mrs. Childs began. “Cruz Bay was so small then, probably not more than eight or ten families. There were two little grocery stores that sold the basics,” she recalled. “For oil, you took a pint bottle to be filled; for butter or lard, you got it in a tin or a piece of paper for
(A presentation by Eva Frellesvig, summarized by Chuck Pishko) We were honored to have Professor Per Neilsen and his wife, Eva Frellesvig, as our speakers at the December 2, 2005 meeting. Per Neilsen teaches Caribbean history at the University of Copenhagen, with his main interest in the Danish West Indies. Eva Frellesvig is an assistant at The Fredricksborg Museum in Copenhagen, which houses the National
By Chuck Pishko The Historical Society would be remiss if we did not note the passing of a champion of American conservation and national parks. Laurance S. Rockefeller (LSR) who passed on July 11, 2004 was instrumental in the establishment of the Virgin Islands National Park. His love of St. John, his business acumen, and his understanding of Washington ways allowed him to create the
For as long as I can remember I’ve felt at home in the forgotten places of St. John: crumbling ruins strangled by vines, centuries of abandonment leaving them shadows of what they once were. My father has also spent his lifetime exploring and studying these “secret” places, so that’s why it isn’t everyday that the two of us mount an expedition to a site lost