National Register of Historic Places

Mary Point Estate

Cruz Bay, St. John County, U.S. Virgin Islands
Listed
May 21, 1978
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
78000272

About this property

Mary Point Estate is a historic property located on the north coast of Saint John, United States Virgin Islands on Mary's Point. The plantation was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1978. The land on which Mary Point Estate is located was originally held by Danish West India and Guinea Company officials during the early years of Danish settlement. Not being prime land for planting, the land was held until new settlers needed property. The van Stell family was the first controlling landholding on Mary's Point. In the aftermath of the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John, Franz Claasen was deeded the Mary's Point estate for alerting the family of the rebellion and assisting in their escape to St. Thomas, a nearby island. Franz Claasen's land deed was recorded on August 20, 1738, by Jacob van Stell. Claasen was the first "Free Colored" landowner on St. John. Augustus Kragh and the Grancis family were owners of the Mary Point Estate during the late 18th century. Hans Hendrik Berg, a governor and president of St. John and St. Thomas, was an owner of the Mary Point Estate during the 19th century. During this time an L-shaped factory and the one-story Great House were constructed on the property. In addition to the Great House, a servant's quarters, farm building, and cemetery remain. The St. John Historical Society recorded Mary's Point as a cotton plantation, but noted that sugar was grown there in the 19th century. LOC.gov: HABS−Historic American Buildings Survey of Estate Mary Point, Great House, Adrian, St. John, Virgin Islands Wikimedia Commons: Great House at Estate Mary Point images

Location

Cruz Bay, St. John County, U.S. Virgin Islands
18.36619, -64.74168

Categories

AGRICULTUREHISTORIC - NON-ABORIGINALARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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The Land
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Geology
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The Civil War
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
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The Community
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Nearby Historic Sites

Annaberg Historic District
Listed
0.9 mi
Cinnamon Bay Plantation
Listed
1.3 mi
Rustenberg Plantation South Historic District
Listed
1.7 mi
Jossie Gut Historic District
Civil War
1.8 mi
Estate Carolina Sugar Plantation
Listed
1.9 mi

Questions about this property

When was Mary Point Estate listed on the National Register?

Mary Point Estate was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 21, 1978.

What type of historic resource is Mary Point Estate?

Mary Point Estate is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Mary Point Estate?

The period of significance for Mary Point Estate is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Mary Point Estate?

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