Historic Structures Report, Part I, Historical Data - Library Building (Old Danish Customs House and Post Office)
Olsen H. 1961. Historic Structures Report, Part I, Historical Data - Library Building (Old Danish Customs House and Post Office). Historic Structure Report. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
This document contains the historical data for the Old Danish Customs House and Post Office, part of Christiansted National Historic Site. The customs houses was of particular importance to the community in the 18th and 19th centuries, when St. Croix, one of the Danish West Indies, exported sugar, rum, and molasses in exchange for imported goods. This report describes the physical history of the structure, focusing on the era from 1798-1842 when most of the important modifications were made, through documentary sources found in the Danish and American National Archives. A portion of the ground floor of the structure, a public library at the time of this report, dates back as early as 1751-52. The remainder of the ground floor was built in 1805, the second story was built in 1828-30 and modified in 1840-42. The building was Christiansted's Customs House from the 1760s to 1878, when it became a post office for the remainder of the Danish era. Report includes illustrations, plans, HABS documentation, and several photographs.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Olsen, Herbert
- Date of Issue
- 1961-08
- Publisher
- U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
- Units
- CHRI , SER
- Keywords
- bookkeeper, colonization, commerce, customs house, Danish, Danish West Indies, Danish West Indies and Guinea Company, economics, government, HABS, library, post office, St. Croix, trade, Virgin Islands, warehouse
- Subjects
- CRIS-HS: 000190: Danish Customs House