As I have shared before, sugar mills and rum distilleries were once a huge booming in St. Croix (back in the 1700s). The fields here were covered in sugar cane and what more to do with all this sugar than to make rum!
So the sugar was ground up at the mills and channeled down to the rum distillery. Here, sugar and rum were synonymous. But with sugar and rum, so was slavery. Slaves worked the plantation, making sugar into the prosperous Caribbean crop that it was at the time including rum.
Today, I went to visit a salvaged sugar and rum plantation and see the grounds. Upon arrival, I was struck by beauty. A Sprawling Saman tree, spiky Kapok trees, relics of buildings- beautiful stone and mortar, avocado trees, bougainvillea. Slaves are credited with bringing seeds over, braided and nestled in to their hair, planted here and living on centuries later.
Walking the grounds, there is a Dungeon. A building with a sign that reads “Dungeon”, with handcuffs inside. The thoughtful signs around the site remind visitors that this is more than just a pretty place to visit on vacation, it’s a place with a dense history of flourishing at the high cost of quality of life ie) slavery.
The ruins, once lost and hidden in the dense rainforest for 100 years, were rediscovered in 1984 by the Ayer family. The ruins went undiscovered for 9 months after they’d bought it. But, once discovered they acknowledged the importance and decided to spend the next 6 years uncovering and restoring it.
Once restored, they opened it to share with the public. The Ayer family owned this particle of land for the next 31 years before selling it to the new owners, one of which, we met. His name is Mark and he rode up the driveway on his bike, coming from the beach at the end of the driveway. Like Ryan and Corina, Mark had a laid-back laissez faire; totally modest and down to earth.
Biggest threats to the premises, like the rest of the island are hurricanes; Mount Washington seems to weather them well having only been mildly devastated by the most recent hurricane – Hurricane Maria in 2017, while the rest of Frederiksted had been severely devastated by the storm. Allowing this crevice of history to live on as a constant reminder of our past, a token to how far we have come, and a reminder again, of how much we’ve yet to evolve.
Earlier in the day, Dan, Lucy, and I visited a natural swimming pool, called a tide pool, at the foot of the driveway. After a hot work day the salt water feels so refreshing and now I’m wondering if slaves had the same thought. The weather here is incredibly hot and tough to work in – it builds character, and maybe even spirit.
The tide pool is just to the left of the Bat Cave, about 200 feet to the west. It’s just like Monk’s Bath, but closer, and slightly deeper, less calm.
The rocks in the tide pool look like the moon’s surface but are as sharp as shark teeth. I never get in the water without my shoes because, well, my fear of sea urchins. Snorkels are great to have in your bag which I always seem to bring one. I use mine to first, check for sea urchins, and second, enjoy and explore the floor of the tide pool. I find a lobster and many little fish that are coexisting with us in here.
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Today is one for the books. Estate Mount Washington is one of my favorite sites of the island thus far. I hope the pictures can do it some justice.
I’m glad to see that places are starting to tell the whole story.
Thanks for the photos!
Your words are good but the images complete the picture.
Id like to thank you for the efforts youve put in writing this blog. Im hoping to see the same high-grade content by you later on as well. In truth, your creative writing abilities has motivated me to get my very own blog now 😉