St. Croix Sites

The CWA completed land improvements at Anna’s Hope, including the improvement of roads, grounds, installing drainage, and terracing the grounds.

The CWA made land improvements at Anna’s Hope on St. Croix. The work included improvement of roads, grounds, installing drainage, and terracing the grounds.

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements work on Annaly Road in Frederiksted.

The Civil Works Administration carried out improvements work on Bog-of-Allen Road, to make the road passable for vehicular traffic.

The CCC built camp facilities at Estate Grand Princess (La Grande Princesse) near Christiansted. The Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands for 1938 describes the CCC's establishment and planned expansion of the camp in St. Croix, "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."

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 PWA carried out construction work for Center-Line Road in St. Croix between 1933 and 1934.

The Centerline Road in St. Croix was paved by Civilian Conservation Corps crews enrolled in Camp V-2. The work was completed so that the US President could drive from Frederiksted to Christiansted on a paved road, but mostly for the development of the islands highway infrastructure. The road was built by two teams (originally called gangs). Gang one was lead by Mr L. Alexander and they did the clearing and filling. Gang one numbered about 60 men. Gang two was lead by Charles Schuster and they did the paving and it amounted about 40 men. Contributor note: this information was told to me by...

The Works Progress Administration built new bathroom facilities at the Christiansted Grammar School. The site of the school is today occupied by the Florence Williams Public Library.

The Works Progress Administration built a new cistern and carried out the repairs and extension of the water and sewer systems, at Christiansted Hospital. Today, the facilities, known as Old Hospital, are vacant and in an advanced state of disrepair.

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the Christiansted Junior High School (renamed Elena Christian Junior High School) on St. Croix.

The Public Works Administration reconstructed the Leper Asylum on St. Croix and added new buildings that included a laboratory. The colony was originally located two miles west of Christiansted, in the Richmond district, adjacent to a penitentiary and an "insane asylum." "On St. Croix a new leper colony will be set up with $25.000 of PWA funds," writes The News-Review from Roseburg, Oregon, on June 27, 1934. As noted in National Archives records, the work included the construction of three new cottages, dormitory buildings, completion of… cisterns, drains, additional water supply, construction of sidewalks, grading and landscaping at the Leper Colony...

The Works Progress Administration completed hardsurfacing work on Church Street in Christiansted.

The CWA paved Company Street between 1933 and 1934. “Entire block between Queen and King Cross asphalted and 200 ft. between King Cross and Princess Street also asphalted, balance of block 150 ft. graded ready for stones and asphalt.”

“Extensive repairs were made to Creque Reservoir in St. Croix where silting and increasing seepage endangered the dam structure which impounds 9,000,000 gallons of potable water. The dam footings have been strengthened and the reservoir area cleaned and put in order for the storage of water when the rains fall.” Built in 1926, the Creque Dam is a 45-foot high arch dam that stores water for Frederiksted. Today, the water in the reservoir sometimes runs low because of a leak.

The CWA did construction work for the Diamond School on St. Croix. “Setting door frames with concrete forms around, setting concrete forms around steel sashes, laying rib lath for roof, erecting iron columns for lean to roof preparing to pour roof”

The CCC performed forestation work that included the “development of approximately 4,000 acres at the east end of St. Croix as a mahogany forest.”

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration carried out “repairs and renewals” work at the East Hill School on St. Croix.

The Works Progress Administration and the Work Projects Administration established, maintained, and operated homestead communities at Estate Saint John on St. Croix. The work was funded by a $22,000 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. Croix as such: “On the four Federal homestead projects in St. Croix there are 284 homesteads totaling 2,148 acres under contract. About 70 percent of the homesteaders are now in their fifth or sixth year. During the year 7 homesteaders died, 9 relinquished their plots and 18...

The Works Progress Administration and the Work Projects Administration established, maintained, and operated homestead communities at Estate Whim on St. Croix. The work was funded by a $46,000 emergency relief grant (1933-1940) to the Government of the Virgin Islands. The Estate Whim plantation spread over more than 1400 acres. The Federal government bought the land in the 1920s and later subdivided the plantation for a homestead plan. The 1933 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands mentions the establishment of homesteads in St. Croix: “The six estates known collectively as "Whim", and located in the southwest portion of St. Croix near Frederiksted, contain 1,450 acres of land,...

The CCC built two miles of fire trails around the Estate Whim homestead community, located on St. Croix, near Frederiksted.

The Works Progress Administration and the Work Projects Administration established, maintained, and operated homestead communities at Estates Colquhoun and Mount Pleasant on St. Croix. The work was funded by a $18,000 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. Croix as such: “On the four Federal homestead projects in St. Croix there are 284 homesteads totaling 2,148 acres under contract. About 70 percent of the homesteaders are now in their fifth or sixth year. During the year 7 homesteaders died, 9 relinquished their plots...

The Works Progress Administration built new bathroom facilities at the Frederiksted Grammar School. Before becoming a public school, the building had served as a hospital and the Danish School. The site of the school is today occupied by the Arthur Abel Complex, which serves as the Governor’s Frederiksted Offices.

The Works Progress Administration built new bathroom facilities for the Frederiksted High School School (renamed Arthur A. Richards Junior High School) on St. Croix.

The Works Progress Administration built a new cistern and carried out the repairs and extension of the water and sewer systems, at Frederiksted Hospital. The plaque placed in 2004 by the St. Croix Historic Preservation Commission at the site of the former hospital reads: "Frederiksted Hospital - Erected as a 2-story town house in 1803 by the DaCosta family, this sturdy building has been greatly modified over the years. Major alterations occurred in the 1930's, when the residence was converted into Frederiksted's main hospital."

In 1934, the CWA performed repairs and improvements to the Frederiksted Public Grammar School.

Government House, in Christiansted, St. Croix, was reconstructed and fireproofed with the assistance of federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) funds. The Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands for 1941 mentions that the rehabilitation of the Government House in Christiansted provided "modern, comfortable living and office accommodations. (…) This work has been done under the supervision of the Public Buildings Administration, Federal Works Agency.”

The CWA began building the Grove Place Clinic on St. Croix. By 1934, the following construction phases had been completed: “Wall foundation complete, floor fillings 2/3 complete and 60 blocks complete”

The homestead housing in Bethlehem, St. Croix was built by the Virgin Islands Company with the aid of PWA funding. A partnership program between the Government of the United States and the people of the Virgin Islands, the Virgin Islands Company sought to expand the homesteading and housing programs alongside industrial development on the islands. In Bethlehem, in addition to running the homesteading and housing programs, the Virgin Islands Company took on the reconstruction of the Bethlehem sugar mill, the island’s largest sugar mill. The 1934 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands provides details about a homestead housing program funded with...

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 the vicinity of Frederiksted on St. Croix. 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...

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration carried out light repair and maintenance work on Johnny Horn Road, on St. John.

The Works Progress Administration completed improvements on Jolly Hill Road on St. Croix. “Graded and constructed shoulders along this road for a distance of ¾ mile…straightening road.”

The Works Progress Administration completed hardsurfacing work on King Cross Street in Christiansted.

The Works Progress Administration carried out improvements on and near King Street in Christiansted.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) carried out the rehabilitation of the King’s Hill Poor Farm. The work included: buildings “overhauled and repaired,” new bathrooms for the “inmates,” new bathhouse constructed, “new employees’ rooms were constructed.” The King’s Hill Poor Farm was again rehabilitated in 1940-1941. In 1941, the Annual Report of the Department of the Interior notes, “The King’s Hill Poor Farm in St. Croix is undergoing rehabilitation and is nearing completion. The work has been done under the supervision of the Public Buildings Administration and the Federal Works Agency.”

The Civil Works Administration carried out repair work at King’s Hill Village (a subsistence housing development). The repair work included multiple buildings.

The Works Progress Administration and the Work Projects Administration established, maintained, and operated homestead communities at Estate La Grande Princesse on St. Croix. The work was funded by a $28,000 emergency relief grant (1933-1940) to the Government of the Virgin Islands. The 1933 Annual Report of the Governor of the Virgin Islands mentions the establishment of the homestead in St. Croix: "On the 712-acre estate known as "La Grande Princesse", located in the northeastern section of the island near Christiansted, and also purchased in the fall of 1932, nearly 500 acres were found suitable forhomesteadallotment. TheacrepriceofPrincesseland,together with development and aid, is about 50...

The Works Progress Administration completed hardsurfacing work on Lagoon Street in Frederiksted.

The Public Works Administration (PWA) carried out improvement work on Long Road in Frederiksted on St. Croix. The work consisted of the asphalting of a 1 and ½ miles segment of road.

“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. (...) 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."