Prior to Columbus' arrival in 1493, the Carib and Arawak Indians inhabited
St. Croix. Though Spain was the first to claim St. Croix, seven countries in
total would take ownership of this island paradise. Spain, Netherlands,
England, France and Knights of Malta all tried to colonize St. Croix.
But it wasn't until 1733, when the French Government sold St. Croix to the
Danish West India & Guinea Co. for approximately $150,000, that St. Croix
truly began to thrive. Denmark took over the island in 1755, holding it for
a total of 184 years until it was sold to the USA. In 1917, as part of a
military initiative during World War I, the United States bought the Virgin
Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
Today, you will see much evidence of the Danish impact on St. Croix. From
historic buildings to estate homes, the style and architecture is clearly
from Denmark. Federick Moth, a Danish Lieutenant, who became governor of the Danish West Indies in 1736, designed the two towns on St. Croix;
Christiansted and Frederiksted. Christiansted, originally a little French
village called Bassin, was designed to be the size of Copenhagen with the
layout of Christiana (now Oslo) in the 18th century.
In the book Three Towns, written by Danish architects, it is written of
Christiansted and the Government House block that "there are not many
townscapes of this kind to be found in the world. The architectural quality
bears comparison to the European Court town of the 18th century."
Suggested Reading
- The Bull of Annaly by Priscilla G. Watkins
- Government House St. Croix: Its History & Special Furnishings by Priscilla G. Watkins
- The Crucian Planter (about Robert Skeoch, father of Norman Skeoch)
- Where Welcome Waits by Robert L. Merwin
- Three Towns
A Brief Timeline
1493 Columbus arrives
1625 Dutch and English move to St Croix, then Spanish, then French then the
Danish
1733 Danish West India & Guinea Company buys the Virgin Islands
1734 Strand Street (Christiansted) is the first street surveyed by the
Danes. 40’ wide, 100’ long
1742 The town of Christiansted has 20 inhabitants
1747 The first building code is established
1755 Danish West India & Guinea Company transfers the islands to the Danish
Kingdom
1755 The capital of the Danish West Indies is transferred from Charlotte
Amalia (St Thomas) to Christiansted – causing a population “boom”
1758 Christiansted has 2,175 inhabitants
1796 Christiansted has 5,000 inhabitants and 664 buildings including houses
1829 Christiansted added only 12 more buildings – did not grow in part due
to decline in sugar.
1917 United States buys Virgin Islands for $25 million for strategic reasons
(WWI)
1930 Population fell from 5,483 inhabitants in 1901 to 3,767 persons
1940 Things lookup and by 1960 population is 5,000
1967 Hotel Caravelle opens
1968 January 1968 St. Croix is featured in National Geographic. Image of
Hotel Caravelle and mention of its opening is included in the article.
1983 Sid and Amy Kalmans buy Hotel Caravelle
1992 75th Anniversary of transfer of the Virgin Islands from Denmark to
United States
1997 Hotel Caravelle celebrates 30-year anniversary
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