Vestiges of A Dark Time In Human History

Overlooked by many visitors to Virgin Islands National Park, the ruins of the Catherineberg Sugar Plantation are showcased by an early 18th century windmill.

This plantation, which also distilled rum, dates to 1718. Located off Centerline Road (aka Route 10) just a few miles east of Cruz Bay, the site sees far less traffic than does the Annaberg ruins, and yet it might be more historically significant in that it served as the headquarters for slaves who rebelled against their Danish overseers in 1733.

Beneath the windmill you can see, and even walk into, an old stone warehouse. Across the road is the horse mill along with crumbling walls of outlying buildings.

Sadly, there are no interpretative panels here to explain the plantation's history or the slave rebellion.