St. Thomas Sites

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals" work at the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School (now J. Antonio Jarvis School) on St. Thomas.

The federal Public Works Administration helped to provide funding for the construction of an airport hangar during the 1930s (PWA Federal Project No. 223). The airport, under the name Bourne Field, served as a military airfield and, during the early 1940s, the hangar was extended an addition 100 feet. (Navy.mil) The hangar served as the passenger terminal for the Harry S Truman Airport; the building was fully replaced when a new terminal was completed in 1990. The old hangar was most likely demolished between 1980 and the early 1990s. The airport has since been renamed the Cyrus E. King Airport.

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements on Altona Road and vicinity. “At the entrance to the French Village area was a corner that constituted a death trap ever since the large increase in automobile traffic in the island. The danger in this corner was almost entirely eliminated by raising the entire road of the north and south approach, widening the bridge at the corner and removing the old masonry sidewall. It is now possible for drivers to see both ways when approaching the corner.”

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Bjerge Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Bjerge Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) laborers conducted grading and landscaping work on the Bluebeard Castle Hotel grounds. Improvements included the construction of additional sleeping quarters and a parking area. CCC workers also built a water storage system. "Since no well water is available it is necessary to catch all rain water which is stored in large cisterns under the buildings."    

"Among the several projects in the Virgin Islands was the Bluebeard Castle Hotel. The group of buildings was erected on the summit of a hill 200 feet above the sea. An ancient stone tower with walls 5 1/2 feet thick, is supposed to have been the watchtower of the famous legendary pirate, Bluebeard. The building on the right in the larger illustration contains the lobby, administrative offices, dining room, bar, kitchen, and service rooms. A detail of its entrance portico is illustrated on the right side of this page. Terraces planted with palms, tropical flowers, and foliage surround all the...

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Bunker Hill in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements on Canaan-Rosendal Road on St. Thomas. The work included blasting away rock outcroppings to smooth the road surface.

The CCC built new camp facilities at Estate Mandahl on St. Thomas.

The CCC built camp facilities near Lindbergh Bay in St. Thomas. The Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands for 1938 describes the CCC's effort to expand enrollment and camp facilities across the islands: "The senior camp in St. Thomas has maintained an enrollment of approximately 75 persons, and the junior camps in St. Thomas and St. Croix have maintained their authorized enrollment of 100 men each. In the next fiscal year it is proposed to increase the enrollment of the St. Croix camp from 100 to 150 men" In 1939, the Lindbergh Bay camp moved to make way for a Marine Corps...

On January 29, 1935, the Emergency Conservation Work was inaugurated on the Virgin Islands and the CCC was established along with two camps. The CCC built camp facilities across the islands, on St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John. The Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands, published betweeen 1935 and 1942 describes the CCC’s effort to establish and expand the camps: “Substantial and well-equipped camp buildings have been constructed, the necessity to provide against hurricanes making it desirable to provide sturdy housing units. The enrollees (limited to the ages between 18 and 25 years) are benefiting by improved food and...

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Commandant Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The Works Progress Administration installed new sewer lines on Commandant Gade in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

CCC workers carried out improvement work at the scenic Crown Mountain Road in St. Thomas.

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on De Beltjen Rd. in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The Public Works Administration carried out “repairs and improvements to the quarters of the Director of Police.” The cost of the project was $1,742.89.

The Agricultural Experiment Station was built with the help of PWA funds, near Dorothea. The total expenditure for the removal of the "agricultural station from Lindbergh Bay, St. Thomas, to new site at Estate Dorothea, St Thomas, including the purchase of land at Estate Dorothea and the construction of buildings for the agricultural station thereon" was $28,709.

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Dronningens Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The Works Progress Administration installed new sewer lines on Dronningens Gade in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

The Works Progress Administration and the Work Projects Administration established, maintained, and operated homestead communities at Estate Mandahl on St. Thomas. The work was funded by a $20,400 emergency relief grant (1933-1940) to the Government of the Virgin Islands. The 1939 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands describes the outcomes of homesteading on St. Thomas as such: “Fifty-three homesteaders occupy 80 plots on two Federal homestead projects in St. Thomas on which they have contracted to purchase 609 acres. These projects are largely of a subsistence homestead character since no agricultural cash crop other than vegetables and fruit for local consumption is grown...

The Public Works Administration carried out major repairs and renovation work at Fort Christian in St. Thomas. Public Works Federal Project No. 11. The PWA work cost $1,995.35.

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Frederikberg Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The WPA built a sewer line from the gravity tank on Frenchman’s Hill to Charlotte Amalie. It also built a new pumping station with two diesel engines for pumping.

FERA carried out street repairs on Gamble Gade in Charlotte Amalie. The work included the "Erection of street curb forms and concreting same…144 tons of dirt removed…”

The Works Progress Administration installed new sewer lines on Gamle Gade in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

The Works Progress Administration installed new water lines on General Gade in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the George Washington School (renamed Evelyn Marcelli Elementary School, closed in 2012) on St. Thomas.

"Outstanding achievements were the completion of the rehabilitation of the Government House and Administration Building in Charlotte Amalie and the Government House in Christiansted, providing modern, comfortable living and office accommodations. (...) This work has been done under the supervision of the Public Buildings Administration, Federal Works Agency."

The Works Progress Administration installed new sewer lines on Guttets Gade in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

"The P. W. A. made an allotment of funds for the erection of low-rent housing in the Virgin Islands sufficient to allow for the development of three such projects. These funds financed the following: (a) Bassin Triangle erected on a vacant site of 5 acres at Christiansted, St. Croix Island. The site cost $2,000 and was improved with 1-story row houses which provide 54 rooms divided into 30 family-dwelling units. The structures cover about 5 percent of the area of the site and average 10 rooms per acre. (b) Marley Homes at Frederiksted, St. Croix Island. An undeveloped plot of 17 acres...

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Hassel Island in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The Works Progress Administration carried out road widening work on Havensight-East Point Road on St. Thomas.

FERA carried out street repairs on High Road on St. Thomas. The work included grading, manhole repairs, and asphalting. This work was likely a continuation of a CWA project.

A homestead housing program funded with the aid of a $45,000 grant from the Housing Commission and a $242,000 loan from Subsistence Homesteads Corporation, sought to improve housing conditions on the Virgin Islands. The program included housing on farm land in St. Thomas. The 1934 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands describes the housing conditions on the islands and the details of the new housing program. "A housing survey in October 1933 in St. Croix, where the need is greatest, showed 2,623 one-room houses, with from 1 to 12 persons in each house. Perhaps half of them are relics of...

The WPA carried out construction and improvements on Hospital Gade in Charlotte Amalie. Road construction and improvements carried out by the WPA in the Virgin Islands typically included “clearing the old roadway widening existing curves, blasting rock from the road surface and drains, relocating where necessary, installing culverts, preparing the subgrade and placing the bituminous macadam surface.”

The Works Progress Administration installed new water and sewer lines on Hospital Gade in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the James Madison School (renamed Edith Williams School) on St. Thomas.

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements on Kongens Tvaer Gade in Charlotte Amalie. The work included grading, curbing, and paving.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) built “one additional room for Dober School Building.” The cost of the PWA work was $3,899.35.