Reef Bay Sugar Factory Historic District
Encyclopedia
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.
The historic district is part of Virgin Islands National Park
. The park maintains an exhibit of a well preserved sugar factory.
. The Arawaks migrated over a period of many centuries to the Virgin Islands and engaged in the first agriculture on the land. Local archaeological excavations confirm a Classic Taino culture on Saint John.
The Danish
claimed Saint John on March 25, 1718. The Danish established large plantations worked by slaves brought from Africa
.
The present Reef Bay Estate was formed in the mid-19th century from two neighboring plantations near Reef Bay.
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.
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.
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
.
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.
The historic district is part of Virgin Islands National Park
Virgin Islands National Park
Virgin Islands National Park is a United States National Park covering approximately 60% of the island of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands, plus a few isolated sites on the neighboring island of St. Thomas...
. The park maintains an exhibit of a well preserved sugar factory.
Early inhabitants
Archaeological research shows that the first inhabitants of the Virgin Islands were Ortoiroid peopleOrtoiroid people
The Ortoiroid people were the first human settlers of the Caribbean, who peaked culturally from 5000—200 BCE. They are believed to have originated in the Orinoco valley in South America, migrating to the Antilles from Trinidad and Tobago to Puerto Rico...
. The Arawaks migrated over a period of many centuries to the Virgin Islands and engaged in the first agriculture on the land. Local archaeological excavations confirm a Classic Taino culture on Saint John.
Plantation era
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.The Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
claimed Saint John on March 25, 1718. The Danish established large plantations worked by slaves brought from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The present Reef Bay Estate was formed in the mid-19th century from two neighboring plantations near Reef Bay.
Par Force Estate
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. John1733 slave insurrection on St. John
The 1733 slave insurrection on St. John in the Danish West Indies, started on November 23, 1733 when African slaves from Akwamu revolted against the owners and managers of the island's plantations. The slave rebellion was one of the earliest and longest slave revolts in the Americas...
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.
Reef Bay
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.Sugar factory
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
Animal engine
An animal engine is a machine powered by an animal. Horses, donkeys, oxen, dogs, and humans have all been used in this way.-See also:*Horse mill*Horse power*Persian well*TreadwheelFor Details log on to www.greenenergysolutions.co.in- Books :...
, and a still
Still
A still is a permanent apparatus used to distill miscible or immiscible liquid mixtures by heating to selectively boil and then cooling to condense the vapor...
with a cooling cistern
Cistern
A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...
for distilling rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
.
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
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
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.