A Visit To Cane Garden In St. Croix

January 15, 2014

While visiting St. Croix at Christmas time, I had the wonderful opportunity of touring Cane Garden, a private estate that was once a sugar plantation during the 19th century Danish ownership of St. Croix. In the late eighteenth century, the McEvoys, a Scotch-Irish family acquired this parcel of land and became wealthy from the production of sugar cane. It was fascinating to learn the history of this estate before and after a disastrous fire destroyed the Great House. If you find yourself in St. Croix, there is another former plantation, called Estate Whim Museum, that is open to the public, and interestingly, it too, was owned by the rich McEvoy family. Whim is a popular destination for tourists and visits to it are giving a needed boost to the Island's economy.

: Fields, like this one, were planted with sugar cane when the estate was functioning as a plantation.

: Hundreds of acres of sugar cane surrounding the house gave it the name Cane Garden.

: Extensive walls, made from the rubble of the land, line the very long curvacious drive to the house.

: There are ruins of the original mill, remnants of slave quarters, and other plantation buildings scattered over the property.

: This is the old cook house. Cane Garden is a favorite destination for “Ruins Rambles” which is hosted by St. Croix Landmarks, the local historic preservation group.

: The cookhouse was located away from the main house and a large beehive oven was used for roasting goats, pigs, and for baking bread.

: A great old terracotta urn is still in place in this alcove.

: This is a cistern where rainwater is collected and stored.

: The vast lawn stretches right to the Caribbean.

: In 1985, Richard Jenrette, a collector of historic homes, became the new owner of Cane Garden. It is now his private residence. Mr. Jenrette’s mission was to return the estate to its original look aided by extensive photographs. This is the gracious house staff.

: The so-called “welcoming arms” staircase, made of mottled coral stone, leads up to the house from the garden.

: The acreage of Cane Garden also includes a mile of lovely beachfront land.

: Since he acquired Cane Garden, Richard Jenrette has maintained and added to the mahogany collection.

: More local mahogany – These pieces are highly collectible and difficult to come by.

: This fabulous girandole mirror, c. 1820, is similar to one that I own.

: The grounds are embellished with simple, yet stately plantings.

: I really loved this chandelier, which is English circa 1820.

: The tall palm trees were swaying in the wind.

: A nice portrait of me with the house staff

: Cane Garden looks similar to the White House in many ways. Dr. William Thornton, one of the architects of the White House was a native of the Virgin Islands and he may have served as a consultant on the building project.

: This is an ancient map of St. Croix.

: The map was hand-drawn in 1799 and this illustration depicts slavery in the sugar production.

: A watercolor of Cane Garden Plantation

: And another

: This map shows the entire Cane Garden estate.

: Mrs. Wall, who collected so much of the mahogany furniture also planted a large number of mahogany trees, which are quite sizable today.

: This is what remains of the old windmill that crushed the sugar cane.

: This is another old mill, which was powered by oxen.

: Our tour of Cane Garden was amazing.

: Another ox mill

: And another

: This old pathway is lined with beautiful, local blue and white bricks.

: This giant cast iron pot was used to boil the cane liquid in the sugar-making process. It’s now being used as a planter.

: In all, the property consists of 265 acres set on a high hill. These 2 gate posts lead to the ocean where there is a wide cut in the coral reef (where there is no surf). This coral was used as a building material for the original home.

: This is the ocean-side of Cane Garden, a fine example of a classical Palladian Villa, built in 1784. Once a sugar cane plantation, this estate was owned by 3 generations of the McEvoy family, Scotch-Irish planters in what was then a Danish colony.

: After it was destroyed by fire in the early 20th Century, Cane Garden was rebuilt by the Howard Wall family, who owned it for about 40 years.

: The building date and restoration date

: Beautiful handmade Hawaiian quilts grace some of the beds.

: The tray ceiling – The nineteenth-century brass chandelier is English.

: Inside – The classical architecture of the Great Hall features a 24-foot high tray ceiling. Busts of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington watch over the room. The early nineteenth-century carpet is Turkish.

: Here we are in the Drawing Room with a gorgeous Boscobel gilt mirror, a handsome mahogany desk, and 8 out of 20 hand-colored lithographs of St. Petersburg, Russia in 1820.

: Thomas Jefferson

: From the Drawing Room, one looks out to the Caribbean.

: A beautiful wall sconce

: The interior of Cane Garden contains, what may be, the largest private collection of Island mahogany furniture made in St. Croix or other islands in the West Indies in the early 19th Century.

: The mahogany collection is primarily attributable to Mrs. Howard Wall, who began collecting Island mahogany furniture in the post-World War II years when it was out of fashion.

: A very nice example of a Danish pier glass and console table

: This may be a portrait of Christopher McEvoy, the original owner.

: Under the portico

: Here we are standing at the front façade of Cane Garden with its prominent Doric columns, which proclaim its classicism.

: A handsome lamp

: This is a Chippendale-style mahogany marble top “slab” table, circa 1775. This table was originally part of the furnishings in the Government House in Christiansted, St. Croix.

: The Walls added this kitchen wing, which has open windows, allowing the ocean breezes to flow through.

: Another

: A great chair

: And another

: The black and white marble floor is fabulous!

: An intricately carved table

: Great island fabric

: This is one of a pair of Colonial West Indian tall-post bedsteads (1870). The finely carved leaf and shell motifs are typical of West Indian furniture.