History of St. Croix

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Written history of St Croix began in November 1493, when Christopher Columbus sighted St Croix as an uncharted island when he sailed toward Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic). He named it Santa Cruz or Holy Cross, a name the French would later change to St. Croix. Looking for fresh water, Columbus moored his ship in a small inlet on the northern shore known today as Salt River Bay. What fun to sit on the deck at Villa Soleil and imagine Chris's boat anchored there in the bay! Columbus thought that St Croix looked like a lush garden when he first saw it. However, after problems with the Caribe Indians Columbus and his fleet fled toward the unknown islands they had seen on the northern horizon, today known as St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola and Virgin Gorda. Columbus, enchanted by the beauty of all the many islands scattered across the Caribbean named them in honor of Saint Ursula and her legendary 11,000 martyred Virgins. Salt River Bay is a National Park and Ecological Preserve encompassing both the landing site and the underwater Salt River Canyon, a well-known scuba diving site.

In the centuries that followed Columbus's arrival the islands and the Caribbean area in general catered to the fleets of the world, those seeking treasure, sugar, rum, spices, cotton and gold. Many nations have laid claim to St. Croix, the largest of the American Virgin Islands. In addition to the various native tribes its' 84 square miles have flown the flag of Spain, England, Holland, France, The Knights of Malta, Denmark and the United States.

The United States began attempting to buy the island around 1867 but didn't succeed until March 1917, when concerns over enemy naval approaches to the Panama Canal Zone became paramount. The islands were first taken care of by the U.S. Navy, turned over to the Department of the Interior in 1931, and in 1936 finally given the right to self-government by the U.S. Congress. In 1954 Congress revised the Organic Act and the first governor, Melvin H. Evans, was elected in 1970.

Agriculture was the original economic base, with cattle and sugar the main activities. Today tourism and industry have usurped their importance. However, the remnants of St. Croix's background abound. There are the ruins of numerous sugar plantations with their Great Houses and windmills and the many examples of 18th century Danish architecture with its gingerbread adornment. The retention of the Danish land survey as the legal description of property gives rise to such beguiling names as Hannah's Rest, Barren Spot, The Whim, Eliza's Retreat, Betzy's Jewel and our own Judith's Fancy just to name a few. As well, the reference to people born on the island as Cruzans, while North Americans that have moved there are known as Continentals speak to an earlier time.