Sion Hill is a settlement on the island of

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...

, in the

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

History

The Sion Hill estate, a former sugarcane

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

, was the economic center of the area. The stone Danish colonial era

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

, windmill base, and sugar processing factory buildings are now in ruins. The windmill was used to power a sugar mill for crushing the

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

harvested on the plantation.

Sion Hill estate

The sugar plantation and

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

distillery was established in the 18th century. The estate passed through several owners while it was in operation. The

great house A great house is a large house or mansion with luxurious appointments and great retinues of indoor and outdoor staff. The term is used mainly historically, especially of properties at the turn of the 20th century, i.e., the late Victorian or ...

, the main residence on the plantation, is a one-story

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

building completed in 1765. The factory and grinding mill, the two primary buildings used for sugar production, were also made of limestone; the distillery is located within the factory building. The property also includes a

cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cookh ...

and a stable. The plantation was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on July 19, 1976.

References

External links

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Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

documentation, filed under Sion Hill, St. Croix, VI: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Houses in the United States Virgin Islands Sugar plantations in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Plantations in the Danish West Indies Populated places in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Houses completed in 1765 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States Virgin Islands Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States Virgin Islands 1765 establishments in North America 1760s establishments in the Caribbean 1760s establishments in Denmark 18th century in the Danish West Indies Neoclassical architecture in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in the United States Virgin Islands {{VirginIslands-NRHP-stub

History

Sion Hill estate

See also

References

External links