Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Estate Whim Plantation Museum
MUSEUM
( 340-772-0598;
www.stcroixlandmarks.com
; Centerline Rd; adult/child $10/5;
10am-4pmMon-Sat)
Just a few miles outside Frederiksted on Centerline Rd lies one of St
Croix's most striking evocations of its colonial sugarcane history. Only a few of the origin-
al 150 acres of Whim Plantation survive as the museum, but the grounds thoroughly evoke
the days when 'King Cane' ruled the island.
The fully restored and furnished neoclassical great house stands at the heart of the
grounds. For the purposes of cooling, it has only three rooms, which are ventilated by huge
windows. Walls built of coral, limestone and rubble, bonded with a mortar of molasses,
insulate the house and have given it the strength to stand up against hurricanes since the
1790s.
As you tour the grounds, you'll see animal-mills and windmills as well as steam engines
used for grinding cane. Buildings like the cookhouse (where they serve johnnycakes), bath-
house, watch house, caretaker's cottage and slave quarters are also on the grounds. Some
are restored to their vintage state; others function as exhibition galleries and the museum
store. The tombstone of Anna Heegaard, the black companion of Governor von Scholten,
is also on the grounds.
Guided tours of the great house leave every 30 minutes. Don't forget to ask for the Land-
marks Society's map to other ruins around the island.
Cruzan Rum Distillery
DISTILLERY
( 340-692-2280;
www.cruzanrum.com
;
3 Estate Diamond, Rte 64; adult/child $5/
1; 9:30-11:30am & 1-4pm Mon-Fri)
To find out how the islands' popular elixir
gets made, stop here for a distillery tour. The journey through gingerbread-smelling (from
molasses and yeast), oak-barrel-stacked warehouses takes 20 minutes or so, after which
you get to sample the good stuff. The company store offers low prices on specialty rums
like 'tropical banana.'
The Nelthropp family, Cruzan Rum's owners, have had a corner on the market since
1760 - right up until Captain Morgan opened its distillery nearby in 2010. The Cruzan fact-
ory is about 2 miles east of Whim Plantation off of Centerline Rd on Rte 64.
St George Village Botanical Garden
GARDEN
