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Form No. 10-300 , UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM I>ArA 5H'6e-T FOR NPS USE ONLY 0ATceNTrB.0 JUL3 0B76 SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS TYPE ALL ENTRIES - COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS DnAME ^ 1 HISTORIC Whim AND/OR COMMON H location STREETS NUMBER y —NOT FOR PUBLICATION CITY, TOWN Frederiksted CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT * VICINITY OF 1 STATE Virqin Islands CODE COUNTY CODE 7 St. Croix - ' CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY .DISTRICT X_BUILDINGIS) —STRUCTURE —SITE —OBJECT OWNERSHIP XPUBLIC —PRIVATE —BOTH PUBLIC ACQUISITION —IN PROCESS —BEING CONSIDERED STATUS X.OCCUPIED —UNOCCUPIED —WORK IN PROGRESS ACCESSIBLE —YES: RESTRICTED ^YES: UNRESTRICTED —NO PRESENT USE —AGRICULTURE ^.MUSEUM —COMMERCIAL ?_park 2LEDUCATI0NAL —PRIVATE RESIDENCE —ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS —GOVERNMENT —SCIENTIFIC —INDUSTRIAL —TRANSPORTATION —MILITARY —OTHER: [OWNER OF PROPERTY NAME Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands STREET & NUMBER Government House CITY, TOWN Charlotte Amalie STATE VICINITY OF St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands [LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEDs,ETc. Recorder of Deeds STREETS NUMBER Government House CITY. TOWN Christiansted, St. Croix STATE U.S. virgin Islands a REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE Historic American Buildings Survey DATE 1960 XFEDERAL —STATE —COUNTY —LOCAL DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS National Park Service CITY, TOWN STATE Washington, D.C. DESCRIPTION CHECK ONE CONDITION ^-EXCELLENT GreathOUS_©ETER10RATEO _UNALTERED —GOOD & Windmillx-RuiNS out buildings xaltered —FAIR —UNEXPOSED CHECK ONE X_ORIGINALSITE (oXCept OHE —MOVED DATE. oyit -building DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINALdF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE The old sugar cane plantation of Whim is located 1.7 miles southeast of Fort Frederick, Frederiksted on Center Line Road, St. Croix. The site includes a significant neo-classic greathouse (constructed in approximately 1794), notable for its a-typical curved ends and complex exterior articulation, and other outbuild­ ings important to plantation operation. A watchhouse from another estate, and several steam engines have been added to the set of original buildings, which have been restored to an approximation of their original state. The Great House lies parallel to Center Line Road, set back from the road with the main entrance centered in the north facade. Two secondary entrances are at either end, with a fourth centered in the rear facade. The long axis of the house lies on the east- west axis. The building is a rectangle with rounded ends, measuring 90' by 35'. There is a wing to the rear, extending 40' off the west side dating from the 1890's. The foundation, like the walls, is constructed of hea^^_limestone block and coral, with a mortar of lime and molasses, six-inch-wide dry moat with a 15" retaining wall surrounds the The moat wall extends two to four feet above ground level, and the moat is six to eight feet deep. There are nine window and door openings on both the front and rear facades. The two main facades are divided into three sections— a central section with a door and two windows, all extending to the foundation line, and two flanking sections of three window bays each. Pilasters divide the central section from the flanking sections, and divide each bay of the flanking sections. The flanking sections are further articulated by capital bands conrecting the pilasters and marking the sill level of the windows, which, together with a continuous molding below the cornice line, divide the wall into a complex orchestration of recessed panels. The door and two windows of the central section of the facade have semi-circular fanlight niches, filled with masonry, and topped with keystones with rolled tip edges. The windows of the flanking sections have triangular pediments, and recessed panels centered under the sills between the molded bands. The two windows of the center section have semi- circular wrought iron balconies. i Form No. 1f)-300a (Aev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OE THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVED ^ ''976 JUL 3 C 197G DATE ENTERED CONTI NUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER Q PAGE four U.S. Virgin Islands Inventory of Historic Places May 1976 x State Virgin Islands Planning Office Charlotte Amalie U.S.V.I. Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NFS USE ONLY RECEIVED DATE ENTERED JOS 2 : JUL 3 0 1976 CONTI NUATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER #7 PAGE Access to the doors is by the typical West Indian "welcoming arms" staircase, with fanning walls. All windows are fitted with wooden shutters, constructed of vertical planks. Hardware on the shutters includes strap hinges, affixed to wrought drive pintles. The number of bays is duplicated in the basement story, where the windows open out onto, and receive sunlight and ventilation from the open moat. The basement level does not have the applied ornamentation of the main floor. The roof, which is a recent replacement, follows the curve of the ends of the building, and is covered with cypress wood shingles. The roof gutter, also added recently, is a concrete drain. The interior plan consists of three large rooms with a side hall, centered in the rear wall, and following the longitudinal axis of the building. The wood floor is a replacement of an earlier floor. The walls are plastered with wainscotting, baseboards and picture mouldings. The "tray" ceiling is a replacement. The basement below is a large open space partitioned only by a colont^aded wall down the center. The rear addition has masonry exterior walls, a gable roof, ex­ terior galvanized gutters and leader. There are three openings to each side and one to the end. Out buildings original to Whim in­ clude a cookhouse, bathhouse, and windmill, all reconstructed, and ruins of a factory. The cookhouse is part of a heavily reconstructed T-shaped com­ plex to the south of the great house. The main body of the T is taken up by the cookhouse, and an area reconstructed to represent a sugar boiling shed, while the long cap of the T houses a museum. Parts of the walls of these structures are original, and consist of a masonry of limestone rubble, brick and coral. GPO 692 455 Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY RECEIVED JUN 2 DATE ENTERED 1978 JUl f M7S iiilii CONTI NU ATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER #7 PAGE two An original bathhouse is located about 20' from the west end of the greathouse. It is a square block, measuring 12' 6" on each of the four sides. The site of an old slave quarters lies about 15' off the north wall of the T-shaped complex. The present building, which may be resting on original foundations, is a masonry and stucco rectangle, measuring about 120' by 20'. The roof is hipped, and covered with corrugated metal. An old carriage house, currently reconstructed for use as an office, is located to the east of the cookhouse. It is a rectangle, measuring 21' by 47', or five bays by two bays, constructed of rub­ ble masonry. There is an addition with a shed roof, off the western facade. To the east of the old carriage house is a watchhouse, which has been moved from another plantation. It is a rectangle measuring 9' 6" by 10' 8", constructed of rubble masonry and brick, window openings on the north, south and east sides. The interior is in the shape of a single-barrel-vaulted room, covered by a roof which splays to the outside to cover the entire rectangle created by the four walls. Further to the east, are the ruins of the former factory, and the old chimney for the steam mill, measuring 13' on a side at the base, and about 85' high. The windmill which has been reconstructed, is located on the farthest point east of the complex of buildings. The grade slopes from the west to the east, and the foundation measures 1' 3" on the deepest side. The mill measures 18'6" in diameter, and has walls, 4'6" thick, measured at the window openings. It is constructed of coursed, dressed limestone block, with radia­ ting surrounds in the form of blocks around the arched window and door openings. The main entrance to the mill is on the west, and is approached from the lower grade on the west by a "welcoming arms" staircase of limestone and stucco which visually continues the masonry surround of the entrance. GPO 892 455 Form No. 10-300a (Rev. 10-74) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPSUSE ONLY RECEIVED 2 ■■■■■■ W DATE ENTERED JOL a tW6 CONTI NU ATION SHEET ITEM NUMBER 7 PAGE three Two window openings placed halfway down the wall are located to the north and south. Square openings, six inches on a side are found in the masonry above the foundations. . ; -V ■ K • -.y • > M GPO 892 455 □ significance PERIOD —PREHISTORIC —1400-1499 —1500-1599 —1600-1699 X-1700-1799 3£_1800-1899 —1900- areas OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW —ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC —ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC ^AGRICULTURE ^ARCHITECTURE —ART —COMMERCE —COMMUNICATIONS —COMMUNITY PLANNING —CONSERVATION —ECONOMICS —LAW —LITERATURE —EDUCATION —ENGINEERING —EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT —INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE —RELIGION —SCIENCE —SCULPTURE —SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN —THEATER —TRANSPORTATION —OTHER ISPECIFY) —MILITARY —MUSIC —PHILOSOPHY —POLITICS/GOVERNMENT —INVENTION SPECIFIC DATES C. 1794 BUILDER/ARCHITECT Christopher Mac Evoy, Jr. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Whim was one of the most prosperous sugar plantations of the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to processing sugar cane from its own fields, the Whim factory received cane from many nearby plantations as well. Tax records for Whim date from 1751. The earliest known owner was a Patrick Donough. When he was in possession of the plantation it was known as John's Rest. The Whim greathouse was built about 1794, by Christopher Mac Evoy, Jr., a Danish Sugar Planter who inherited * the plantation from his Scottish father, a naturalized Dane. Mac Evoy, a bachelor with a reputation for high living, spent most of his time in Europe, as did many other plantation owners. In 1824 Mac Evoy sold the property to the firm of Hartmand and Brothers. Subsequent owners were the Tutein Brothers firm of C. Blacks Enke & Co., Baring Brothers & Co. of London, and Thomas Grif­ fith. Whim is currently owned by the Virgin Islands Government and leased to the St. Croix Landmarks Society for operation as a museum. The society began restoring the greathouse and outbuildings in the late 1950s. It is the only museum in the U.S. Virgin Islands offer­ ing interpretation of a restored sugar plantation. The Whim Greathouse is a superb example of Danish neo-classicism as adapted for use in the West Indies with finely articulated window and door openings and applied molded details enhancing the basically simple one story rectangular plan with semi-circular ends, all under the traditional hip roof. EImajor bibuographical references 1 St. Croix LancJinarks Society, brochure, "Whim Greathouse", Lewisohn, Florence. St. Croix Under Seven Flags. Hollywood, Florida: Durane Press, 1970. Historic American Buildings Survey. Whim Great House. National Park Service, 1960. Interview: H.Lee Platt. Director. St. Croix IiandmarkR sooi IDgeographical data ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY IQ aCrOS UTM REFERENCES Margaret Proskover 17° 42* 08" North Lat. 640 51. 49„ Long. LI I__I 1 . I . , I ZONE EASTING X ■ I . . I Li NORTHING bLJ I I . I . . I I ■ I . I . . I ,Z0NE EASTING NORTHING I VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE CODE COUNTY CODE STATE CODE COUNTY CODE |form prepared by Samuel N. Stokes, Russell Wright, Margaret Proskauer, Annie Hillary, V.I. Historic Survey ORGANIZATION Virgin Islands Planning Office DATE May 20, 1976 STREET& NUMBER P.O. Box 2606 TELEPHONE (809) 774-1730 CITY OR TOWN STATE Charlotte Amalie. St. Thnmas. TT-R- virgin Tglat-ifTa ODFim Estate historic preservation officer certification THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS; NATIONAL _X STATE____ LOCAL As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE TITLE Director of Planning May^^%, 1976 FDR NPS USE ONLY 1 HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS P ' DIRECTOR, ATTEST fcLUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER DATE ^ ^ iU^iJiEEPER OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER D HjSTDRlCPRESE DATE GPO 892 453 DNCORDIA / V % J w \ WHIM mor MAU w!<Wiey wvuscum CHIM « rr A i r 'A ;■ Ml 3 0 1976 Property State O. Working Number ^ ^ ^ ^ ^to\ ^ , C r {y^ TECHNICAL Photos___J- Maps ___ ^ CONTROL IXs ^2-S 'ncrf~ ' ■' ”• ^ ^ ^ ■/:“ ' w \ T~2^^— /^ <9 /V >w>. ^ -------- ^1hi5 Aetiniui^rMeds olsKcHKwvop volbouniUfeiii- ARCHITECTURAL HlhlORlAN biundok^ aK^tnfHVi and donr prtstAttitm of «xacM^ toVvoit ibt ftowiftcthin indudts- lf)fu.iAi^mAiTm Stu>o^ bt- bitipftiJ 4oVvAbt pV\otei of Vrj. other ffouieuu' -*nce_ JKc 4hcA otclpt- b|dAten'<5 ourt AiUhtA. %-ih*taj»\ rail ruiartes iAuUtttfH'r^nal’reasonn«.Me ae■U|B^> ^ '“VOlW W;:^ , V\Q;ui ARCHEOLOGIST tr *h x;d yfid/?fu^ OTHER Inventory Review REVIEW UNIT CHIEF BRANCH CHIEF Accif?r 02>\-e. llsc^ lio KEEPER National Register Write-up Federal Register Entry ? -7^ Send-back Re-submit Entered JOL 3 0 1976 t N T :2 1 0 6 - 74 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No. 7 Q o a y\ ji>j jlD . fhc>^ ^rsci-u-^S'^) AS . Z^JZ-r-Yy^ ^ 5 ■>>'*<^ • AS U^L. ■ I __ . '6^<-<. a^ui. /’Uyf' - -V ' V. .. -L- ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE VIRGIN ISLAI®S Date Entered 4UL 3 C 1976 Name Location Christiansted Historic District Christiansted St. Croix Island Frederiksted vicinity St. Croix Island Estate Botany Bay Chariotta Amalie vicinity St. Thomas Island Magens Bay Archeological District Charlotte Amalie vicinity St. Thomas Island Also Notified Hon. Ron de Lugo Regional Director, Southeast Region MMott/row 8/4/76 State Historic Preservation Officer Hr. Thomas Blake Planning Director Virgin Islands Planning Board Charlotte Amalie St. Tliomas, Virgin Islands 00801 INT: 2950-75 HR Dai a S lieet DATEj 2 1 JUL-V Reviewer ' INITIALS, (S^ I JUL 3 0 1976 NAME AS IT APPEAPi; IN FEDERAL PXCISTER, WKlt^ OTHER KA.KES:_ location: STHUrtNUMaER 1-1 SE: of FKELC^RiKS-T^O OKI CEMTE.RUIKie. arr,TowN FT^^DH.R\ t<^TE.P ^ eowoREawoNAEo.stb.ct I ' WOMTYOF OONCnibbiaNAL DISTRICT COUNTY3T (L^ODC code ... •TATI lA feUAKi DS OWNER OF property: ooVT co„^ ADMINISTRATOR(underline)- FEDERAL (AGENCY HAflE) : KPS REGION,■(CIRCLE) N.ATLANTIC MID ATIANTIC SOUTHEAST MIDWEST VJEST PACIFIC NORTHl-EST SamUTEST ROCKY MOUNTAIN features: INTERIOR EXTFPIOR E"’’TTpo'''S - aot applicable - 7 _ not applicable - 8 ^ Not appli cable-9 y .Interior, exterior, environs not intact-0 ^E«,ORATED _US*tT£R£0 -AU'NS JE^TEREO -JIHEXROSED Ufteconstructed .CtaexcavateH -Excavated CONDITION - i^EXCELLENT —GOOD —Mir GtNALSITC —MCVtO —UnJenewn ACCESS- „ /=------ —----------------. Yes-restricted Yes-unrestricted ) No access unknown historic district ? yes VmiN NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC DISTRICT? IP YES, NAME, YES O •ITHIH NATIONAL HISTORIC LAinjMARK? IF YES, NAME: (g) ADAPTIVE use; CS) Saved ? FUNCTION (S); (use vDcabulary words) then- PL AMT AT 10 M. now- f^USEOM^ PARK,, EX>Oc^tioMAu significance: OUKSVfRCHiSTORlC ICOLOGVHISTORIC IlCUlTURE NirecTuHc ^RT •XOMMCRCf •JCOMMUNICATIONS Claims ^CONSCRVATION —ECONOMICS —EDUCATION —ENGINEERING —EXPLORATION —INDUSTRY —INVENTION —UNOSCAPC ARCHITECTURE ^RELIGION -uw/cov'c/politics -SCIENCE —UTERATURE —MIUTARY —MUSIC —PNH0S0RHV —POUnCS/COVERNMENT —SDOAl/HUMANlTARIAN —TRANSPORrATION —OTHER ISPECIFY) ' —entertainnuint ^health —recreation —.settlement —soclo/cultural —urban & commun planning first-’ YES NO oldest’-’ YES NO **Onlyl? YES NO . , ^ DA^^l-S H ARCIUTECTURAL style: M?'0 - CLLA^'C-AL. .a nrchitee^tt.biiilder: CHr\sT6PHe:1?.^AC engineer; landscapc/gardon designer: — interior deeorator; ---- artist/artisan: builder/contraetoi-; — ethnic group; names; (label role Rersonai — Me appropriate date) events institutional dates; date of construction (Specific date or 1/4 of century): l7<^4 DATE(S) OF "^UUOR■■ ALTERATIONS: HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT DATE(S); source: acreage: (OF NOMINATION) PRIVATE OTTIER FEDERAL 'AGENCY: (to nearest tenth of an acre) lO LOCAL GOV’T MUNICIPAL COUNTY comments; (include architectural information here) puA W ' KECtTrANi»AJ/ (70'X35'\ (3FF-CEi4TE-K. \AJtKlCt 46'c.OM<G,.^ I ^TORbY^ AKlO CjC3F?.AL., HIP FZPO^ K)/ poOMDEX> r6AT -6> FT \AJiOB., 6-g- FT. DEEP vj/ JS" ReTA^WiW<^ y^/ALCj <?-g>Ay facade. Cl^lDeD INJTo 3 dHC.TI6K2»^ CeVAXE't^ se:<^vos\ • I^OOP- F(_AMKeD &V Z VU/^^DOU/D ^^LL E.XTEV^Dmi6» X6 FLjOOI^, £A . lO/ ^ :^Ml-C»*^CUL-AR. FAML-k=jHTS> ^FILLED tu/ 3lHOTT<=LRC- p(DOR »AA3 CORdep AR.M ST£pS.,X/mD()W (d/ 0A Lcowi^ i EMd 5E,en(?M 3 PF^DiIVMSMTeD KI/ajdomJS SBPA^A-rBT> 8V P<LAtsTB'R^j oirretyiUD)(2ef/m«i^ SIGNIFICANCEamaximum two sentences) \A4UM WPg OF THE- MODT PRCKDPEI’JSoUS 3L)|G,Af^. PL-AHXATIOND OF THS. n*™ ^ CeKTUR-lES iM -THE. Vl(i.(S,(Sl tSLANiDS. TH(=: WHIH <^RJElATHOU3e., BUIL.T C. BY G4R.I3T(^PHE.<^ ' MAC k.\/OY, JR.., »S AM &XAMPLS. neo-<SL AC.S»<2.(C>M ADAPTE.D FOR- <jS»e. lU TUe. 'H&>T' . /NOIE15- W” DAf^l-S H ARClIITECTUIiAL STYLE.’ - <lLA€€>'CAi GHP s'r^PHELK.^lAC e > vJi^ 011^ 1 i^cc r* landscapc/garclon designer; interior decorator: ETHNIC group; names; (label role & appropriate date) events artist/artisan; ----- buildcr/eontractor; — Rerspnal ------- jMc institutional---- dates; date of CONSTRDCTIOM (Specific date or 1/4 of century): I7<^4 DATE(S) OF "MJVJOR” ALTERATIONS: HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT DATE(S): SOURCE, (Qj. noNINATION) acreage: PRP/ATE (^JTAra^^ OTTER FEDERAL 'AGENCY: (to nearest tenth of an acre) 10 LOCAL GOV'T MUNICIPAL COUNTY COMMENTS; (include architectural information here) PC_A Wi «P=f,rTAM r-»\ *r »xl/ E»/^/iwlfNC r\ CiAT ume-b^rN^^coitsu -, lwft-YovB«i-vuim Mi vA\Pp6i> fit»vr c^nteiL ev\T«tA4st- iv)\m buy\o pooCi^ eSOH hP(UjDY\i'd^ BUvvi> f=a^Lx<j»it-, paojfcCDr\<r ^ • PlLPi^Ttal^7 , BfsLT C,rv\M«-V rv^^ar 6u»tdM>voM>U(M> BoiK>i«6\ j€?«V6ufe«> tew- 'aTO\nev> y OtMtl '^\Tfe<QrumS, Torrr C- j itvcnbt4»comfo«> IKO-Vtie ^ 1 !“ rf jr''Or 0?; ;’0 L OT t-"i 8110 loL-i C. ■ pT.0.'itst lOLo , ,.ood exeiiipl'- 'r.o''-^.)o? Lanlsh ne®-cl63siclu^adapte-i for the .;f3 3l Indies.