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.[1]
Archaeological research shows that the first inhabitants of the Virgin Islands were Ortoiroid people. The Arawaks migrated over a period of many centuries to the Virgin Islands and engaged in the first agriculture on the land.[3] Local archaeological excavations confirm a Classic Taino culture on Saint John.[4]
Plantation eraedit
Intermittently starting in the 1670s, the land along the shorelines of Saint John was occupied by settlers with diverse nationalities. The property was used for maritime activities and cotton production.[5]
The present Reef Bay Estate was formed in the mid-19th century from two neighboring plantations near Reef Bay.[2]
Par Force Estateedit
Par Force Estate was located on the east side of Reef Bay Valley and early documents indicate that the land was in use at the time of the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John with Anthony Zytstems the original owner. A 1780 maps shows Zystems continuing to own the land and a sugar factory and animal mill on the property.[2]
Reef Bayedit
An unnamed parcel of land located on the north east end of Reef Bay was identified on a 1780 map as being owned by C. Wyle and as a cattle and cotton plantation.[2]
Sugar factoryedit
Sugar factory.Steam-powered engine.
The first sugar plantation on the land was started in 1725 on the Par Force Estate. Oxholm's 1800 map shows a sugar plantation with an animal mill on Par Force land.[6]
After Reef Bay Estate was formed by joining the neighboring properties, a new sugar factory was built. The factory was used for processing sugarcane into sugar and distilling rum. The factory buildings include a boiling room, an animal-powered mill, and a still with a cooling cistern for distilling rum.[6]
O.I. Burguest and Company purchased the property in 1855. With W. H. March managing the estate, the sugar factory was modernized and converted to steam in the 1862. An "engine room" measuring approximately 25 feet by 27 feet was added to house the cast ironsteam engine and sugar cane crushing machinery. In 1864 March purchased the property at auction and he continued to operate a sugar factory on the land until 1908. Bay Oil was produced at the factory during the St. John bay oil boom in the early 20th century.[6]
Virgin Islands National Parkedit
In the 1960s the sugar factory ruins were restored by Virgin Island National Park and the ruins are one of the best surviving examples of a West Indies sugar operation.[6]
^ abcd"The Reef Bay Sugar Factory Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
^Investigations at Cinnamon Bay 2008-08-20 at the Wayback Machine, friendsvinp.org
^Understanding The Petroglyphs 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine, friendsvinp.org
^Dr. Doug Armstrong, "The Shoreline Settlement at Cinnamon Bay, St. John, U.S.V.I.: A Small Estate Established Before formal Colonization and Burned During the Slave Rebellion of 1733 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine", 2003 Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology, friendsvinp.org
^ abcd"Estate Reef Bay, St. John County, VI Data Pages". Estate Reef Bay, St. John County, VI. Historic American Buildings Survey. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Estate Reef Bay.
Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. VI-2, "Estate Reef Bay, Sugar Factory, Reef Bay, St. John, VI", 35 photos, 2 color transparencies, 3 measured drawings, 12 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
reef, sugar, factory, historic, district, historic, section, saint, john, united, states, virgin, islands, located, south, central, coast, adjacent, reef, land, site, sugar, factory, property, added, national, register, historic, places, july, 1981, national, . 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 1 Reef Bay Sugar Factory Historic DistrictU S National Register of Historic PlacesU S Historic districtReef Bay Sugar FactoryLocationSaint John United States Virgin IslandsCoordinates18 19 30 N 64 44 42 W 18 32500 N 64 74500 W 18 32500 64 74500Area5 acres 2 0 ha Built1800MPSVirgin Islands National Park MRANRHP reference No 81000084 1 Added to NRHPJuly 23 1981 The historic district is part of Virgin Islands National Park The park maintains an exhibit of a well preserved sugar factory 2 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early inhabitants 1 2 Plantation era 1 3 Par Force Estate 1 4 Reef Bay 2 Sugar factory 3 Virgin Islands National Park 4 References 5 External linksHistory editEarly inhabitants edit Archaeological research shows that the first inhabitants of the Virgin Islands were Ortoiroid people The Arawaks migrated over a period of many centuries to the Virgin Islands and engaged in the first agriculture on the land 3 Local archaeological excavations confirm a Classic Taino culture on Saint John 4 Plantation era edit Intermittently starting in the 1670s the land along the shorelines of Saint John was occupied by settlers with diverse nationalities The property was used for maritime activities and cotton production 5 The Danish claimed Saint John on March 25 1718 The Danish established large plantations worked by slaves brought from Africa citation needed The present Reef Bay Estate was formed in the mid 19th century from two neighboring plantations near Reef Bay 2 Par Force Estate edit Par Force Estate was located on the east side of Reef Bay Valley and early documents indicate that the land was in use at the time of the 1733 slave insurrection on St John with Anthony Zytstems the original owner A 1780 maps shows Zystems continuing to own the land and a sugar factory and animal mill on the property 2 Reef Bay edit An unnamed parcel of land located on the north east end of Reef Bay was identified on a 1780 map as being owned by C Wyle and as a cattle and cotton plantation 2 Sugar factory edit nbsp Sugar factory nbsp Steam powered engine The first sugar plantation on the land was started in 1725 on the Par Force Estate Oxholm s 1800 map shows a sugar plantation with an animal mill on Par Force land 6 After Reef Bay Estate was formed by joining the neighboring properties a new sugar factory was built The factory was used for processing sugarcane into sugar and distilling rum The factory buildings include a boiling room an animal powered mill and a still with a cooling cistern for distilling rum 6 O I Burguest and Company purchased the property in 1855 With W H March managing the estate the sugar factory was modernized and converted to steam in the 1862 An engine room measuring approximately 25 feet by 27 feet was added to house the cast iron steam engine and sugar cane crushing machinery In 1864 March purchased the property at auction and he continued to operate a sugar factory on the land until 1908 Bay Oil was produced at the factory during the St John bay oil boom in the early 20th century 6 Virgin Islands National Park editIn the 1960s the sugar factory ruins were restored by Virgin Island National Park and the ruins are one of the best surviving examples of a West Indies sugar operation 6 References edit a b National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service April 15 2008 a b c d The Reef Bay Sugar Factory Historic District National Park Service Retrieved 2008 07 23 Investigations at Cinnamon Bay Archived 2008 08 20 at the Wayback Machine friendsvinp org Understanding The Petroglyphs Archived 2008 05 11 at the Wayback Machine friendsvinp org Dr Doug Armstrong The Shoreline Settlement at Cinnamon Bay St John U S V I A Small Estate Established Before formal Colonization and Burned During the Slave Rebellion of 1733 Archived 2008 07 23 at the Wayback Machine 2003 Conference of the Society for Historical Archaeology friendsvinp org a b c d Estate Reef Bay St John County VI Data Pages Estate Reef Bay St John County VI Historic American Buildings Survey Retrieved 2008 07 22 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Estate Reef Bay Historic American Engineering Record HAER No VI 2 Estate Reef Bay Sugar Factory Reef Bay St John VI 35 photos 2 color transparencies 3 measured drawings 12 data pages 3 photo caption pages nbsp This Saint John United States Virgin Islands location article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article about a property in U S Virgin Islands on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Reef Bay Sugar Factory Historic District amp oldid 1166523341, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
