Slob Historic District, near Christiansted, Virgin Islands, is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

which was listed on 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 v ...

in 1987. The listing included nine

contributing buildings In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, three

contributing structures In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

, and a

contributing site In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

on . It was a large

sugar 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 ...

, started in the mid-1700s and owned by the Bodkin family until 1784. The estate included a factory building, a water mill tower, a

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 ...

built around 1750, and a slave village. Slaves were emancipated in 1848, and the estate declined and was largely used for grazing sheep and cattle. There were riots and the plantation was burned in 1878. It has also been known as Estate Slob, as Body Slob, and as Slob. With The Slob Historic District includes the Great House and five slave cottages from the late 1700s and two from the early 1800s in the slave village. The slave village was the birthplace of Cyril King, the island of St. Croix's first native-born governor. The district also includes the stables and an 1840s factory building. It is located north of Centerline Rd., about west of Christiansted, on the east side of a cemetery.About location: Both the NRHP document and the NPS webpage state, incorrectly, that the site is 6 miles west of

Frederiksted Frederiksted is both the town and one of the two administrative districts of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is a grid-planned city, designed by surveyor Jens Beckfor, originally to 14x14 blocks but built 7x7 to enhance the island commerce in ...

. Frederiksted is on the western coast of St. Croix however and west of it is out at sea. Slob is in fact 6 miles west of Christiansted. Based on sketch map and description of location in the NRHP document, and Google maps identification of "Slob Historic District" (), it is located on what Google Maps terms "Route 69", which runs north from Centerline Rd. (Route 69 may or may not be U.S. Virgin Islands Highway 69 (currently a redlink) in the highways listed at List of United States Virgin Islands highways.) According to OpenSource map, that would be VI 633 (so perhaps U.S. Virgin Islands Highway 663). Adjacent, to the west , is the north end of the large Kingshill Cemetery. The estate was visible from Centerline Rd. when the NRHP document was written, but is obscured by trees by 2016. The tower is directly on Route 69, on the east side of the road, at exactly as determined by Google Streetview to match photo in the NRHP document. The windmill ruin at top of hill in the estate appears to be the structure at exactly , which is visible in Google satellite view and is visible by Google Streetview from ground level in housing complex parking lot to the north. The Great House appears to be the structure at exactly . Google satellite view copyright 2019; Google Streetview imagery captured August 2016, both accessed November 21, 2019.

Notes

References

External links

*Photos in Flickr photostream of user "National Register of Historic Places Pro"

Flickr photo of tower

Flickr photo of Great House in use by Department of Health
**scroll to see other Slob estate photos. Sugar plantations National Register of Historic Places in the United States Virgin Islands Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands {{VirginIslands-NRHP-stub