I have always been intrigued with history and events of the past that have brought us to our future. One of the things that makes St. Croix so mysterious are the ruins of more than 150 sugar plantation and sugar mills that noticeably dot the hillside and peek out of the valleys all over St. Croix. I jumped on the opportunity to learn about St. Croix's Danish past by attending the second "Ruins Ramble" of the year, sponsored by the St. Croix Landmarks Society.

Let me begin by explaining the general format of any ramble…Ruins Rambles are presented monthly from November to May by the Education Outreach Program of the St. Croix Landmarks Society. The group assembles on a Sunday afternoon at a designated site around 3:30pm.

Following a brief overview of the history of the property by a historian, the group is guided through the property. The historic interpretation and light to moderate hike usually takes from 60 to 90 minutes. Refreshments of local fruit drinks, wine, cheese and assorted breads and crackers await your return and round out the afternoon.

This particular Ramble was special because it combined ruins from the 16th century with modern day ruins. The water front property of Estate Anguilla dates back to 1736 when it was claimed by the King of Denmark, while the aluminum factory was erected in the 1970's.  

I was excited to see a group of 75+ locals and tourists of all ages and fitness levels, eager to take this journey. Our guides, historian George Tyson and Pat Mahoney, a representative of The Renaissance Group, took turns explaining the lay out and history of the property.

The goal of the Renaissance Group is "to enhance and improve the economy, environment and quality of life on St. Croix through efficient recovery of resources, both natural and built, located on their 12,444 – acre industrial site." The grounds are sprawling with towers, pipes and remains of moving systems.

It is quite overwhelming to be this close to it all, the holding tanks and the covered conveyer belts that once transported products and by-products of the aluminum plant from one process to another. I admit, it was a little eerie. We were in the skeleton of a sleeping giant that would never wake again. Pat Mahoney spoke of the history of the plant and what the possibility of machinery remains, location and space can be used for in the future.

The large group slowly made it's way down to the beginning of the plantation ruins. The walk took about 20 minutes, first through the pipe lined corridors of streets through the plant and finally onto the pathway of red bauxite.

Our guide stopped to gather us around where he recited the lineage and described the various structures of the historic plantation ruins. Seeing them in the distance was amazing...and we were about to be up close and personal with what remained.

We first encountered the row houses. These houses actually were built as individual homes for the enslaved residents, but through time and modernization, they were all connected to form long rows of rooms similar to barracks.

According to historical records, there were once as many 147 enslaved residents on the estate.

Thanks to the people at St. Croix Renaissance Park, we had a path cleared out of the bush for us to travel on. The bush was thick but if you stopped and looked off in the distance, you could see more ruins.

Through this heavily vegetated path, we encountered small remains of what once was the “Great House,” the residence of the planter and his family. Stirring in a way you would feel if you were in someone's home without their permission, the house I was standing in belonged to people who had been long gone but whose influence and culture helped shape St. Croix into what it is today. We were standing dead center in the middle of history.

As I followed the guide's voice, I literally stumbled across one of the more recent structures of the ruins. A steam chimney, which rises about 150 feet into the air and has remained well intact. The tower is reminiscent of the 1890's when owner Frances Lunney, added the steam mill and chimney. It stands as a reminder when industrialization on St. Croix meant cultivating sugar.

Next, we came across the animal pens which, on this plantation, were the most stylish housing any working animal would be proud to call home. Perhaps it was the style to keep all the buildings on one estate uniform in style. One tour mate commented on how unusual it was to have such intricate brick archways on facilities for animals!

Again, so much history and beauty made me fall to the back of the group. I reached the bottom of the trail and, and there it was, a graveyard. There I stood taking it all in. Although there were only two headstones, they were the biggest, carved marble headstones you had ever seen. They were toppled over and cracked, but still readable. They were of course, previous plantation owners, always to be with their land.

As I proceeded up the path, I stopped to look through a clearing of trees. I didn't realize how high we were and this clearing provided an impeccable view of the skeleton of the aluminum plant. There I stood in the middle of remains more than 200 years old looking at remains less than 50 years old.

Back up the trail, past the animal pens, through the bush and to the other side of the row houses, my scenery went from lush green to the harsh red of the bauxite that was piled on the other side of the plantation ruins and lined the walkway back to the modern day ruins of the aluminum plant. This site resembled Mars — red desert, a sharp contrast to the 200 year old ruins I just emerged from.

At the end of the Ramble, and the walk back through "Mars", the group was again together — but now we gathered for refreshments and to discuss thoughts and opinions on what each of us had been exposed to. We were given a great opportunity to experience the ruins, both old and new, and be reminded that we must preserve our history. History allows us to see mistakes we've made and build on our accomplishments. St. Croix has come a long way but still has a history that you can reach out and touch. In a way, the past is the present on St. Croix.

Many thanks to the St. Croix Landmarks Society and The Renaissance Park for making this Ruins Ramble possible. For more information on the preservation and history of St. Croix, please go to St. Croix Landmarks website at www.stcroixlandmarks.com.

The Renaissance Park is doing great things!
Take at look at their website at www.stxrenaissance.com.

For upcoming dates of other Ruins Rambles, check out our events calender.
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