|
Excerpted from St. John Off The
Beaten Track ©
2006 Gerald Singer
Peace Hill is aptly named. From the hilltop at the end of the
headland separating Hawksnest and Denis Bays, you can enjoy an
absolutely spectacular view of the north coast of St. John and
beyond. Years ago, a windmill was powered by the constant trade
winds that passed unimpeded over the hill. The semi-restored
ruin now provides a dramatic backdrop to the unique tranquility
of the hilltop.
The trail to Peace Hill begins at the parking area located about
a half mile east of Hawksnest Beach and leads to the top of Peace
Hill. It’s a short easy walk, only about a tenth of a mile
on a well-maintained track with s moderate grade.
About 20 yards up the Peace Hill Trail, a 0.2 mile spur trail
on the right leads to the western end of Denis
Bay near Perkins
Cay. This is not an official Park trail and although not regularly
maintained, it is generally in good condition.
Denis Bay was once part of the Susanaberg Plantation, which was
taken up by the Runnels family in the early eighteenth century.
The plantation was primarily dedicated to the production of
sugar. Sugar works and settlements were established on both
the upper (Susanaberg) and lower (Denis Bay) portions of the
estate which were connected by a road that descended the steep
hillside by means of numerous switchbacks. This road is still
in existence today.
Denis Bay became a prosperous plantation and a good portion
of the lower valley was either planted in sugar cane or used
as pasture land. A horsemill and, then later, a windmill, were
constructed at the top of Peace Hill. A long conduit brought
the cane juice down to a boiling room near the beach where there
was also an estate house, a warehouse, a rum distillery and a
slave village. These buildings have been partially restored and
can be seen from the beach.
Sugar production at Denis Bay, and on St. John in general, began
to decline in the mid nineteenth century. By 1880, sugar cane
was no longer grown at Denis Bay, and the property was used for
provision farming and the grazing of sheep and cattle.
In 1877, Denis Bay was split off from Susanaberg and in 1905,
it was sold to J.E. Lindqvist, who began the operation of a small
boarding house, known as Lindqvist’s Place. At the time,
there was only one other such establishment on St. John owned
by Miss Myra Keating and located in Cruz Bay. Lindqvist also
established a moderate-sized garden at Denis Bay. Agricultural
records for that period show that 2,000 pineapples, 1,000 banana
plants and 500 coconut palms as well as some cotton and cocoa
were cultivated on the Denis Bay Estate. Lindqvist sold off The
Hawksnest portion of Denis Bay to Philip Wilbur Rosenstand in
1920. The majority of the Denis Bay Estate then somehow ended
up in the hands of the National Bank of the Danish West Indies
who sold it in 1937 to a group of St. Thomas businessmen who
operated a sport fishing club called the Deep Sea Fishing Club.
The approximately 100-acre parcel sold for $1,250.
The Deep Sea Fishing Club was available to the general public
with hotel services and conveniences for $22.00 per week with
all meals included. The club was described by Desmond Holdbridge
in his book Escape to the Tropics, written in 1937 as “a
quaint institution, now non-existent, where no fishing was ever
done.”
In 1939, Julius and Cleome Wadsworth purchased Denis Bay. Julius
was a Foreign Service officer. Cleome was a professional fabric
designer and worked in China and in Singapore, where she met
Julius. They were married in 1932 and lived in Danszig, Prussia
where Julius was serving as Consul. They came to St. John just
before the outbreak of World War II in Europe.
The Wadsworths used Denis Bay as a vacation getaway. Their primary
home since 1944 had been in Washington D.C.
Some illustrious St. Johnians have lived at Denis Bay either
as renters or caretakers. St. Johnian, Thomas Thomas, served
as one of the first caretakers and Robert and Nancy Gibney were
among the first renters, having leased the property in 1947.
The late Carl Frank, the founder of Holiday Homes was also a
caretaker. He passed on the enviable job to Peter Griffith and
family. One of the Griffith’s daughters, Melanie Griffith,
who became a famous actress, spent much of her childhood at Denis
Bay.
Denis Bay Estate is now the property of the Virgin Islands National
Park, although certain “remainder interests”, which
are the right to use a 1.1-acre parcel, containing the estate
house, the warehouse and the old slave quarters will remain in
private hands until 2035. In the 1990s, these “remainder
interests” were sold to Ed Fine, son of the “Three
Stooges” actor, Larry Fine. These rights have since been
resold.
In the 1950s, the Wadsworths donated a seven-acre tract of land
to the Virgin Islands National Park including the area known
as Peace Hill, where the old windmill still stands. The deed
of gift to the Park asserts:
The grantors have for some years maintained Wadsworth’s
Peace Hill as a place where the public is invited to enjoy great
beauty and quiet. It is their wish that Wadsworth’s Peace
Hill be perpetually dedicated as a place where people might meditate
and find inner peace, in the hope that in some way this might
contribute to world peace.
In 1953, Col. Wadsworth commissioned two St. Johnians, Terrence
Powell and Thomas Thomas, to construct the Christ of the Caribbean
statue on the summit of Peace Hill, which for some time was a
St. John landmark marveled at by the passengers and crews of
vessels passing through the Durloe Channel.
In 1995, Hurricane Marilyn destroyed the Christ of the Caribbean
which was, by this time, showing signs of decay. The National
Park has decided not to rebuild the statue.
Cleome Wadsworth died on December 28, 1998 at the age of 102.
Julius Wadsworth died in April of 1999. He was 96.
More Trails |
