America's Paradise - St. Croix USVI Real Estate and Vacation Listings

About St. Croix

U.S. Virgin Islands

History

Christopher Columbus came upon St. Croix on November 14, 1493. Shortly thereafter, the island was christened Santa Cruz, or “Holy Cross”. Between that time and the mid-1700's the island changed hands many times, but finally ended up in the hands of the Dutch Crown by 1755.

The island had a period of fantastic prosperity during the second half of the 18th century. Islanders were harvesting sugar, making rum and trading slaves. The slave trade was abolished in 1803 and all slaves were emancipated on July 3, 1848.

Government House in town of Christiansted

The United States purchased the islands from the Danish Government in 1917, but it wasn't until the1950's that tourists began to discover the natural beauty of the Virgin Islands.

Today, St. Croix boasts the first Virgin Islands' casino and several upscale resorts and condominium complexes. Both Christiansted and Frederiksted have gourmet restaurants and premier shopping. The island also plays host to a half iron man competition and several sailing competitions.

Boston Harbor Cruises and Mermaid Fast Ferry offer round trip ferry service to downtown St. Thomas. Seaborne Airlines, with a fleet of sea planes, offers dock-to-dock service to both downtown St. Thomas and Old San Juan.

St. Croix has a long and colorful history that you can read more about in books like "The Settler's Hanbook" and many others that can be found at various island shops. A list of interesting facts about St. Croix is provided below.

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Interesting Facts

About St. Croix

Citizenship: Virgin Islanders are U.S. Citizens. The U.S. Virgin Islands is a U.S. Territory. The Islands have a governor and legislature elected locally, but the U.S. President is the head of state.

Currency: U.S. Dollar

Climate: Average temperature is 77 - 85 degrees. Rainfall can average 40 inches on the west end of the island and as little as 10 inches on the east end of the island.

Dress: mostly casual during the day and informal at night. It is frowned upon to wear bathing suits, short shorts or bare midriffs in town.

Electricity: 110 volts, 60 cycles AC

Income Tax: The U.S. Virgin Islands uses the U.S. IRS Tax Code, but the tax dollars are kept locally. Social Security and Unemployment taxes are paid to the U.S. Federal Government.

Language: English with Spanish spoken frequently.

Population: Approximately 50,000

Sales Tax: There is no sales tax. There is however an 8% hotel room tax.

Size: 28 miles long and 7 miles wide.

Time: Atlantic time. Daylight savings time is not observed.

Water: Most people drink bottled or purified water. Water is available from wells, cisterns (stored rain water) and desalinated sea water for other uses.

Recommended Reading:

Meet the Virgins… The Settlers Handbook

Mongoose Marketing

The Romantic History of St. Croix

Florence Lewisohn

Life in the Left Lane

Emy Thomas

Don't Stop the Carnival

Herman Wouk

(Just for the fun of It)

All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Any reference to services or publications should not be construed as endorsements but are provided merely as a convenience to the reader. All properties are subject to prior sale or withdrawal.