Cinnamon Bay Plantation
Encyclopedia
Cinnamon Bay Plantation is an approximately 300 acres (1.2 km²) property situated on the north central coast of Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands
adjacent to Cinnamon Bay
. The land, part of Virgin Islands National Park
, was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places
on July 11, 1978. Archaeological excavations of the land document ceremonial activity of the Taínos, as well as historic remains of plantation ruins.
. The Arawaks migrated to the area over a period of many centuries and engaged in the first agriculture on the land. Archaeological excavations confirm a Classic Taino culture at Cinnamon Bay.
The Danish
claimed Saint John on March 25, 1718 and the area along the north central coast from Caneel Bay
to Cinnamon Bay
was occupied by nine private land owner. The Danish established large plantations worked by slaves brought from African.
Daniel Jansen and his wife Adriana Delicat were the first land owners to acquire a formal Danish deed
for property at Cinnamon Bay. Approximate to Jenson's purchase in 1718, a coastal parcel of land was purchased by William Gandy in 1722, and was later bought by Peter Durloo in 1728. Durloo was the husband of Daniel Jansen's daughter, Elizabeth. Durloo's newly acquired coastal land abutted Jensen's property to the north. In 1719, Pieter de Buyck purchased property along the north central coast of the island, east of the Gandy-Durloo land. After de Buyck's death in 1728, the land became the property of Abraham Beaudewyn. The 1936 tax records show that Jasper Jansen, Daniel and Adriana Jansen's eldest son, owned the de Buyck-Beaudewyn land. Despite the short tenure of de Buyck, this locale still carries his name, Peter Bay. These three parcels of land; the Jansen, Gandy-Durloo, and de Buyck-Beaudewyn properties, became the consolidated estate later known as Cinnamon Bay Plantation.
List of new owners of the consolidated property:
, slaves loyal to the Jensen family held off the rebel slaves long enough for the Jansen's to escape, but could not prevent "the property's dwelling house, storage building, and boiling house from being looted and burned, nor could they prevent the Jansen cane fields from being set ablaze",
In 1955, Cinnamon Bay was sold to Jackson Hole Preserve, Incorporated and in 1956 donated to Virgin Islands National Park.
United States Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands of the United States are a group of islands in the Caribbean that are an insular area of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.The U.S...
adjacent to Cinnamon Bay
Cinnamon Bay
Cinnamon Bay is a body of water and a beach on St. John in the United States Virgin Islands, adjacent to the historic Cinnamon Bay Plantation. The bay is just east of Trunk Bay, and is about a mile west of a famous eco-tourism destination called Maho Bay Camps...
. The land, 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...
, was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on July 11, 1978. Archaeological excavations of the land document ceremonial activity of the Taínos, as well as historic remains of plantation ruins.
Early inhabitants
Archaeological evidence 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 to the area over a period of many centuries and engaged in the first agriculture on the land. Archaeological excavations confirm a Classic Taino culture at Cinnamon Bay.
Plantation era
Starting in the 1680s, prior to any formal colonization, the land along the shoreline of the north central coast of Saint John was occupied for decades 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 and the area along the north central coast from Caneel Bay
Caneel Bay
Caneel Bay is a Rosewood Resort located on the northwest side of St. John, one of the US Virgin Islands. The resort is nestled within Virgin Islands National Park on property once owned by Laurance Rockefeller. The hotel was one of the early members of Rockefeller's hotel chain, Rockresorts...
to Cinnamon Bay
Cinnamon Bay
Cinnamon Bay is a body of water and a beach on St. John in the United States Virgin Islands, adjacent to the historic Cinnamon Bay Plantation. The bay is just east of Trunk Bay, and is about a mile west of a famous eco-tourism destination called Maho Bay Camps...
was occupied by nine private land owner. The Danish established large plantations worked by slaves brought from African.
Daniel Jansen and his wife Adriana Delicat were the first land owners to acquire a formal Danish deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
for property at Cinnamon Bay. Approximate to Jenson's purchase in 1718, a coastal parcel of land was purchased by William Gandy in 1722, and was later bought by Peter Durloo in 1728. Durloo was the husband of Daniel Jansen's daughter, Elizabeth. Durloo's newly acquired coastal land abutted Jensen's property to the north. In 1719, Pieter de Buyck purchased property along the north central coast of the island, east of the Gandy-Durloo land. After de Buyck's death in 1728, the land became the property of Abraham Beaudewyn. The 1936 tax records show that Jasper Jansen, Daniel and Adriana Jansen's eldest son, owned the de Buyck-Beaudewyn land. Despite the short tenure of de Buyck, this locale still carries his name, Peter Bay. These three parcels of land; the Jansen, Gandy-Durloo, and de Buyck-Beaudewyn properties, became the consolidated estate later known as Cinnamon Bay Plantation.
List of new owners of the consolidated property:
- 18th century
- 1739 Adriana Jansen and Jasper Jansen
- 1755 John Hobby (married Jasper Jansen's widow)
- 1760 Commandant Harrien Felchenhauer
- 1765 Madam Adriana Bödker
- 1770 Mathias Bowe
- 1775 Wood and Guyle for Patrik Mc Donnel
- 1776 Michael Shoy
- 1780 Michael Shoy's heirs
- 1784 Lachlan Mc Lachlan ( married to Mary Shoy)
- 1785 Johannes Dam (married to Mary Shoy)
- 1790 Johannes Dam's heirs
- 1795 Hans D. Cronenberg (married to Mary Shoy)
- 19th century
- 1805 Mary Cronenberg
- 1823 Mary Lindberg
- 1834 N. S. Hjardemaal and Andersen
- 1836 N. S. Hjardemaal
- 1845 N. S. Hjardemaal and C. A Woldsen
- 1847 Clement Skelton, Thomas Ivinson, and William Dawson
- 1857 R. F. Barner
- 1858 Abraham Chalwell Hill
- 1863 John William Weinmar
- 1867 Carl Alexander Lindqvist
- 1884 Margaret Lindqvist
- 1894 John Emanuel Lindqvist, Caroline Amelia Lindqvist, Marie Eliza Lindqvist, and Georgianne Adriane Lindqvist
- 20th century
- 1903 Danish West Indies Plantation Company
1733 slave insurrection
During 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...
, slaves loyal to the Jensen family held off the rebel slaves long enough for the Jansen's to escape, but could not prevent "the property's dwelling house, storage building, and boiling house from being looted and burned, nor could they prevent the Jansen cane fields from being set ablaze",
20th century history
In 1913, Cinnamon Bay was bought by a Danish company and the land was used for breeding and raising of cattle.In 1955, Cinnamon Bay was sold to Jackson Hole Preserve, Incorporated and in 1956 donated to Virgin Islands National Park.