Indian Chief Travel Guides

Whim Great House

Whim Great House is a restored historic estate, accessed from Centerline Road. These gateposts at the estate, and another set nearer the house, were brought here from other parts of the island, as were many of the furnishings and implements. However, all were common in the early 1800s. They have been donated by private families and brought from Government House. The St. Croix Landmarks Society has done an absolutely marvelous job restoring not only the house, but the plantation grounds as well. An added treat is the museum, located behind the main building.

Young high school and college students act as guides through the Great House. They are well-versed in its history and remember an astonishing number of facts about each item within it. They are extremely polite and anxious that you enjoy your visit.

The estate was bought in 1794 by a wealthy man-about-town, Christopher MacEvoy. He constructed the Great House shortly thereafter. There are two unusual features about the house. Because MacEvoy was a bachelor, there is only one bedroom, a rare situation, and he insisted upon sinking the basement into the ground and surrounding it with dry moat rather than building it on a raised basement. Even today, papers stored in the basement do not mold.

Each room has some outstanding furnishings. In the salon, the desk was made of Cruzan wood in Denmark and the chandeliers once hung in Frederiksted’s Lutheran Church. The four-poster bed once belonged to an island governor and the planter’s box in the bedroom is the forerunner of an attaché case.

Beyond the Great House is the tiny bath house, which had a wooden floor, and the toilets were located downwind, on the western side. Next to that is the museum, with a rotating collection of memorabilia and artifacts of the era. The smithie shop and tools used by the slaves to plant and harvest the cane make interesting exhibits.

The cookhouse is extremely interesting, since it contains utensils used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Note the water purifier and the ovens, which could roast, bake and boil all at the same time. Apothecary Hall, with an intact collection of over 250 bottles and jars and original equipment, was a recent gift to Whim.

Continue along the path to the cane field where you’ll see an 1856 steam engine and set of crushers. It was brought to St. Croix from Scotland. The animal mill was operated by harnessing oxen, mules or horses to the poles and leading them around in circles as slaves fed cane beneath the rollers. The windmill was added later. It was bought in Nevis and reconstructed here when not a single working windmill stood on St. Croix.

The St. Croix Landmarks Society hopes to eventually raise enough money to rebuild the factory where the juices were boiled down into molasses to make sugar. You can help by buying gift items at the gift shop in the Great House. An attractive store, it sells reproductions of items used in the colonial period and souvenirs as well. Whim Great House is open 10-4, except Sunday. Modest entrance fee. Allow at least 45 minutes to visit. 772-0598, www.stcroixlandmarks.com.