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The roundabout today

If you are lucky enough to have visited St. John previously, you’re probably aware of the fact that we do not have a single stoplight on island. The only time a stoplight appears is when we have road construction happening, and it forces a regular two-lane road down to one.

Rather than traffic lights, we have one roundabout in Cruz Bay. It’s located right near Dolphin Market at the intersection of Route 10 and Route 104. The roundabout is only about 15 years old, and prior to that, there was a Texaco gas station somewhat in its place. That business was forced to close in 2007 when the government took the land it was leasing through eminent domain.

I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy learning about island life from years past. And for some reason, I find the fact that there was a gas station right at the roundabout rather fascinating.

The Texaco gas station was owned by the late Robert O’Connor, Sr., a former Senator who operated it for 40 years. (Mr. O’Connor also operated his car rental company out of it at the time. That company remains open today.) He didn’t want to close the gas station, per old news reports, but was forced to, as the land was leased from the Territory, and local leaders said it was needed for the roundabout’s construction.

At that time, it was one of three gas stations. E-C was open over near the basketball courts and remains open today. There was also a gas station open in Coral Bay at the time, which closed years ago.

The roundabout was built to alleviate congestion in the area. It was constructed in advance of the opening of the current car barge dock, which they anticipated would increase traffic in the area. It was also built so larger trucks could take a left onto Route 104 (Southside Road) when traveling down Route 10 (Centerline Road) more easily. Prior to the roundabout, they’d have to “back and fill” to make the sharp turn.

I was perusing the internet looking for additional pics of the area when I came across a video taken by Frank Barnako. Frank was the original owner of News of St. John. I purchased the business from him in 2013. I then sold it to a part-time resident in 2020. The video is pretty cool in my opinion. Check it out for yourself:

And there you have it, folks. I hope you enjoyed reading this super random post today.

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A flamboyance of flamingos has been visiting St. John in recent weeks, and while a flamingo sighting is relatively rare these days, I recently learned that hasn’t always been the case.

I was aimlessly scrolling through Facebook earlier this week when I came across a post on the Virgin Islands Audubon Society’s page. The post, written by Gail Karlsson – a St. John resident who is an environmental lawyer, author, photographer and bird watcher – announced that a flamboyance of flamingos has been spending time over at a salt pond near Salt Pond Bay. How exciting & interesting is that?!

A flamingo sighting on St. John is very rare. We had one spend the day at Trunk Bay back in 2016, which sent many of us into a frenzy. (It’s a small island and not a ton happens here – which is a good thing – so a flamingo sighting is a BIG deal in my world!) I needed to know more, so I reached out to Gail for details.

Gail informed me that flamingos were native to the Virgin Islands, but all were eaten or lost to development until the reintroduction on Anegada in 1992 and then another flock later on Necker Island. Anegada and Necker Island (a private island owned by Sir Richard Branson) are located over in the British Virgin Islands. According to Gail, there is currently a “smallish” flock on Beef Island (near the airport on Tortola), the Necker Island flock and about 300 on Anegada, according to the last bird count.

Gail told me that she spotted a single flamingo at the pond near Miss Lucy’s in September and that Laurel Brannick, a retired NPS park ranger, spotted seven near Grootpan last September. As of this morning, there are 13 hanging around the salt pond.

You may be wondering why all of the flamingos aren’t bright pink in color. “It takes the young ones several years to get their full color,” Gail wrote in a recent St. Thomas Source article, “and, in the meantime, they have black and white feathers, and pale pink legs and throats.”

She continued, “They also have to have a proper diet. Their pink coloration as adults comes from carotenoids in microscopic algae, which flamingos are able to metabolize to create pigments in their feathers. They can eat the algae directly, or get the carotenoids from eating brine shrimp or other tiny creatures that also feed on the algae growing in shallow, salty ponds.”

Click here to read Gail’s article in its entirety and to see additional pics.

No one is certain how long the flamingos will stay on St. John, but if you are lucky enough to see one during your next visit, please love them from afar. And if you are able to get some pics or video, feel free to share them on our Facebook page. 

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One of the places on St. John that I find to be incredibly fascinating is the Catherineberg plantation. Located three miles from Cruz Bay and approximately 500 feet north of Centerline Road sits an impressive and well-intact 18th century sugar plantation. If you haven’t explored this area already, add it to your must-do list for your next St. John vacation. Or better yet, book an Explore STJ island tour and let me take you there.

Catherineberg, also known as Hammer Farm, Cathrineberg and Jockumsdahl, was parceled out in 1719, one year after Denmark officially settled St. John. Sugar was cultivated on the property beginning in the 1730s, and that continued until the latter part of the 1800s. The site contains a large, unusual windmill, a horse mill, a factory and a still, among other structures.

The Windmill

The windmill is nearly 37-feet tall, and its walls are six-feet wide at the base. Below the windmill are several storage areas, including a long tunnel and separate storage rooms. A t-ramp leads up to the tower. The windmill was built sometime between 1800 and 1826. It is the only windmill on St. John constructed in this manner.

Three large rollers were positioned inside of the windmill tower. The wind turned the “sails” on the windmill, subsequently turning the rollers. Enslaved laborers fed stalks of sugarcane into the rollers, which crushed them and squeezed the juice out. That juice was then boiled and ladled from kettle to kettle. This gradually concentrated and purified the boiling liquid. The juice was then poured into flat wooden pans where it cooled and ultimately crystalized into sugar. If the juice boiled too long, it became molasses instead of crystals. So timing was imperative.

The Horse Mill

The horse mill was also unusual construction for its time period. It’s a circular structure that measures roughly 50 feet in diameter, and its walls were raised four to ten feet above grade level. It, too, had three large rollers in its center. But in this structure, animals were used, as opposed to wind, to turn the rollers. Roughly 25 to 35 carts of sugarcane would be crushed daily using this method. The windmill, by comparison, could crush significantly more sugarcane. The horse mill was built around 1720.

In the early 1850s, the horse mill was converted to a cistern and was used to store water. The horse mill in its current, altered state has lost many of its original features. But it is still a very interesting structure to check out.

The Factory 

Just down the hill from the windmill and horse mill sits the remains of the factory house, also known as a boiling house. You can see remnant of a boiling bench, firing trench and a cistern, but the majority of the building is badly deteriorated. The site is unstable, so please do not try to walk up the stairs or too close to the site.

The End of Production

The majority of sugar production ceased in that latter part of the 1800s following the emancipation of the slaves in 1848. By 1867, only five plantation remained operational. In comparison, there were more than 100 operating at production’s peak around the turn of the century.

Catherineberg was then used for cattle farming from roughly 1870 though the 1930s. It is possible, however, that cattle farming began as early as 1846 at this particular location.

So as you can see, St. John isn’t just about the beaches and bars. There’s a lot of rich history on this tiny little island. Be sure to check some of it out on your next trip.

If you’d like more information on Catherineberg or if you are interested in booking an Explore STJ island tour, please feel free to email me at jenn@explorestj.com.