Our Rentable Houses
The Grange Estate on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands was originally a Danish colonial sugar plantation established in the early 18th century. The estate included not only the large great house (the plantation owner’s residence), but also the plantation’s industrial complex and slave village where the people enslaved on the estate lived and worked. Coldwell Banker – US Virgin Islands
🏚️ The Slave Village Houses
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During the plantation era, the slave village at Estate Grange was located to the southeast of the main buildings. Historic maps from the late 1700s show about twenty small structures arranged in a grid-like pattern — these were the living quarters for enslaved laborers who worked the sugar fields and plantation operations. NPS History
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The earliest slave houses on St. Croix, including those at Grange, were likely built of wattle-and-daub with thatch roofs — simple materials typical of early Caribbean plantation housing. Later structures were constructed of stone rubble and could include multi-unit row houses (e.g., two or four units) providing modest shelter for enslaved families. NPS History
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Today, ruins of at least three stone rubble row houses from the late 18th or early 19th century still remain among more modern homes on the estate grounds. These ruins represent some of the surviving remnants of the original slave village that once housed dozens of enslaved people. NPS History
🧠 Historical Context
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Slave villages on plantations like Grange weren’t just housing — they were communities with basic infrastructure (e.g., water sources, small gardens) and were usually positioned near the industrial parts of the plantation (like mills and boiling houses). NPS History
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Although formal archaeological work hasn’t yet been done at Grange, surviving ruins, historic maps, and records help historians understand the likely layout and construction of the slave housing there.
