Reef Bay Great House: Reef Bay Estate
Gjessing FC. 1968. Reef Bay Great House: Reef Bay Estate. Historic Structure Report. Historic Structures Report Part I: Architectural Data Section. Virgin Island National Park
Reef Bay valley stretches from the main east-west ridge of St. John to a wide unprotected bay on the south coast. It is one of the more important valley systems of the island and has given the name to the south center quarter of St. John, one of the five administration divisions established by the Danish colonists of the Virgin Islands. At its head the valley is little more than a ravine. Near the shoreline it opens ·on a small alluvial plain. For its entire length it is bounded by steep hills that towards "the east rise to Bordeaux Mountain, the highest peak on St. John (approximate elevation -1280). Although on the south and leeward side of the island with it relatively lesser rainfall, the valley as the drainage basin for the main ridge and the Bordeaux Mountain area is well watered by Virgin Islands standards and supports for most of its extent the same type of vegetation found on the damper north side of St. John. It. was the last area of St. John to cultivate sugar cane and to support a sugar factory. In 1908, the factory was stopped and intensive cultivation discontinued, and the valley since then has gradually revented to a natural cover of woods and bush.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Gjessing, Frederik
- Date of Issue
- 1968-11
- Units
- VIIS
- Keywords
- Architecture, Assessment, factory, History, plantation, Structure