orm No. 10-300 
, \0'">*^
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 
INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
fH0S0<X
FOR NFS USE ONLY 
Sff££J
receiveiAUG 1 5 1971
DATE ENTERED
FEB 17 TO
SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NATIONAL REGISTER FORMS 
TYPE ALL ENTRIES - COMPLETE APPLICABLE SECTIONS
[NAME
HISTORIC
Estate Prosperity
AND/OR COMMON
LOCATION
STREETS NUMBER
_NOT FOR PUBLICATION
CITY. TOWN
Frederiksted
^ VICINITY OF
congressional district 
1
STATE
yi ,T~qi n Islands
CODE
78
county
St^ Tlroix^
CODE
nflpn
HcLASSIFI CATION
CATEGORY
_DISTRICT
4tBUILDING(S)
—STRUCTURE
—SITE
—OBJECT
OWNERSHIP
—PUBLIC
^-PRIVATE
—BOTH
PUBLIC ACQUISITION
—IN PROCESS 
—BEING CONSIDERED
STATUS
^OCCUPIED 
—UNOCCUPIED 
—WORK IN PROGRESS 
ACCESSIBLE 
^YES: RESTRICTED 
— YES: UNRESTRICTED 
—NO
PRESENT USE
X_AGRICULTURE 
—MUSEUM
—COMMERCIAL 
—PARK
—EDUCATIONAL ?_PRIVATE RESIDENCE 
—ENTERTAINMENT —RELIGIOUS
—GOVERNMENT 
—SCIENTIFIC
—INDUSTRIAL 
—TRANSPORTATION
—MILITARY 
—OTHER:
HOWNER OF PROPERTY
NAME
Frances Christensen
STREETS NUMBER
P,0, Box 65
CITY, TOWN
Frederiksted 
vicinity of St. Croix, Virgin
STATE
Islands
Hlocation of legal description
COURTHOUSE,
REGISTRY OF DEEDS,ETC. 
RecordeT of Deeda
STREET & NUMBER
Government House
CITY. TOWN
nhri .cfhi anKtftd . Kh. Croix
STATE
□representation in existing surveys
TITLE
V.I, Inventory of Historic Places
DATE
June, 1977 
—federal ^Lstate county —local
DEPOSITORY FOR
SURVEY RECORDS
V.I, Planning Office
CITY, TOWN
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
STATE
DESCRIPTION
CONDITION
CHECK ONE
—EXCELLENT
^OOD
—FAIR
—DETERIORATED
—RUINS
—UNEXPOSED
—UNALTERED
-Altered
CHECK ONE
X_originalsite 
—MOVED DATE.
DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (IF KNOWN) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
Prosperity lies one mile north, of Frederiksted, in the West End Quarter 
of St. Croix. Originally a sugar plantation, Prosperity also retains 
evidences of the period when it was one of the largest producers of cotton 
in the Danish West Indies. The complex includes a great house, chapel, 
overseer's house, numerous large animal pens and stables, a steam powered 
sugar factory, and a slave village.
The great house, now three stories in height including a high cellar, 
was originally only two, the upper floor being added sometime in thp 
mid-lSth Century. The house is rectangular in plan, seven bays by 
three, with a three story gallery at the west end. The walls are rubble 
masonry, stuccoed, with a brick belt course at the first floor line.
There is no watertable, and only a simple projecting roof cornice. A 
long straight flight of brick and rubble stairs, flared at the bottom 
but not of the "welcoming arms" design, lead to doiible doors centered 
in the first floor level of both the front and rear facades. The entrances 
have glass transom lights with louvered blinds and panelled shutters 
serving as doors...The front (south) entrance is protected by an ex­
ceptional lattice work porch with scroll work resembling that found on 
some houses in Frederiksted. The roof is hipped, with corrugated tin 
as the covering. A two-story gable roofed cookhouse is appended to the 
northeast corner. There is also an open air nightclub directly to the 
north of the great house, with a shed roofed dining area. While visually 
distracting, the construction of the cliob has caused no physical damage 
to the house.
The plan of the great house consists of a wide central hall with £ 
living room to the west (left) and dining room to the east (right).
A wide stair hall runs two-thirds of the width of the house, with a 
Small office behind the living room occupying the remaining portion of 
the rear.
The living room, three by two bays, has plastered walls with a wood 
ceiling and a good wood den tilled comice. There is no chair rail. The 
windows, which are not the typical floor length, and the pairs of double 
doors opening to the hall and the porch, are finished with molded archi­
trave trim with corner bullet blocks. The jambs of all openings are 
splayed. The hall door and a door in the wall between the living room 
and the office have raised panels, vdiile the exterior porch door has the 
typical louvered blind and panelled shutter combination. The wood base 
has a molded cap.
/
The center hall repeats the dentilled wood cornice, wood ceiling, 
plaster walls and architrave trim to the exterior door and the openings 
to the living room, rear stair hall and the dining room. The exterior 
door has splayed jambs, but the opening to the rear hall does not. The 
dining room features an exceptional wood archway separating the room 
into two spaces. Resting on wood pilasters, the arch has panelled in- 
trados and soffit, with a wood keystone, but the spandrels are open.
Form No. 10-300a 
(Hev. 10-74)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE 1NTERIOR 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 
INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
FOR NPS USE ONLY -: 1
.AUG 151977
RECEIVED''
DATE ENTERED
FEB 17 1978
CONTINUATION SHEET
ITEM NUMBER
PAGE One
The three chair rail height windows, with splayed jambs and molded archi­
trave trim, in the south facade are repeated in the blind wall separating 
the dining room from the stair hall, with the central opening a door.
All windows have louvered blinds and pannelled shutters. The ceiling 
is wood with a molded wood cornice, the walls are plastered and there is 
a base mold with cap.
The cookhouse, located at the northeast comer of the house, at 
floor level, has an open, wood trussed ceiling and roof structure, a lime 
concrete floor and plastered walls. There is a single window in each of 
the east and west walls. The north wall is taken up by the charcoal range, 
but the pyramidal chimney hood has been removed.
The rear stair has 18 risers in a straight run, with a molded handrail 
supported by turned balusters, two to a tread, and turned newel posts, all 
of which is mahogany and of excellent quality. The design of the 
balusters is repeated in the balustrade that runs the full length of the 
stairs opening at the upper floor level. The upper floor consists of 
five bedrooms located in a line along the front facade, with a nursery 
at the west end of the hall and a later bathroom at the east end. The 
first and fifth bedrooms have three sides of a wood tray ceiling created 
by the plane of the hipped roof. The other bedroom opens on to the three 
level porch. The four walls dividing the bedrooms eire board partitions, 
with four panel doors interconnecting the five. The exterior wall (north) 
and the longitudinal wall between the bedrocans and the hhll are rubble 
masonry, plastered.
A small (17' x 33') one story chapel is located off the north west 
corner of the great house. One by two bays and rectangular in plan, the 
chapel has a gable roof behind a crow step gabled south facade, which has 
a heavy board door. The walls are stuccoed rubble. Ruins of a below 
grade tunnel connecting the chapel to the great house cellar remain. A 
20th Century open shed has been added to the east wall of the chapel.
A large (approximately 15' x 90') rubble stable with a shed roof, of 
undertimined date, exists north'of the chapel and great house, connected 
to the cookhouse by a high rubble wall. A vaulted roof rubble cistern, 
still in use, remains west of the great house.
Further to the northwest is a two story hipped roof overseer's 
house. Seven bays by four and rectangular in plan, the long walls are 
arcaded, full length at the upper level, and opposite the middle five bays 
of the lower. The walls are stuccoed rubble and the roof corrugated tin.
Form No. 10*300a 
iHev, 10-74)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF fflSTORIC PLACES 
INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
FOR NFS USE ONLY 
RECEIVED
AUG 151977
DATE ENTERED
rSiiiii
FEB 17 1978
-
CONTI NUATION SHEET
ITEM NUMBER
PAGE
Two
A later two story porch has been added to the west end wall.
Additional animal pens and stables are located west of the overseer’s 
house, with rubble perimiter walls and wood fencing separating the pens. 
There is an exceptional belfry with a storage space below built into the 
south wall of the pens. Foundations for another animal pen remain south 
of these pens, just east of the sugar factory.
■^e factory is now in ruins, but remains show that it was two stories 
in height, with rubble walls, and was square in plan. The north half of the 
structure was divided into five rooms by rubble partitions. This area is 
largely intact and was the part of the factory given over to the processing 
of cotton grown on the plantation. It had its own gin and other processing 
machinery, but nothing remains from this activity. The steam boiler room 
was located in the extreme southeast part of the factory, with the tall 
square tapering chimney still in existence, but deteriorated. Parts of the 
cast iron flywheel and other machinery from the sugar processing period are 
scattered about the interior and the exterior of the factory ruins. The 
area opposite the boiler room is divided by a rubble wall, six bays in the 
lower level and nine in the upper. The east wall of the factory structure, 
most of which is still standing full height, has six bays, with all openings 
and comers lined with yellow brick. A romd tapered rubble tower for a 
wind powered well exists north of the factory. Nothing remains of the 
machinery or sail loft.
East of the factory and running in two parallel rows to Prosperity 
Road and the shore is a slave village, consisting of four rubble, hipped 
roof cottages, square in plan, with two to a side.
Ul SIGNIFICANCE
-
PERIOD 
—PREHISTORIC 
—1400-1499 
—1500-1599 
—1600-1699 
—1700-1799 
^1800-1899 
-Xl 900-
AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE - CHECK AND JUSTIFY BELOW
__ARCHEOLOGY-PREHISTORIC
—ARCHEOLOGY-HISTORIC
^AGRICULTURE
^^architecture
—ART
—COMMERCE 
__COMMUNICATIONS
—COMMUNITY PLANNING 
—CONSERVATION 
—ECONOMICS 
—EDUCATION
-LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
—ENGINEERING
—EXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT
—INDUSTRY
—LAW
—LITERATURE
—MILITARY
—MUSIC
—PHILOSOPHY
—POLITICS/GOVERNMENT
—RELIGION
—SCIENCE
—SCULPTURE
—SOCIAiyHUMANITARIAN
—THEATER
—TRANSPORTATION
—OTHER (SPECIFY)
—INVENTION
SPECIFIC DATES
BUILDER/ARCHITECT
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
Prosperity is one of the roost coroplete examples of a large plantation 
complex remaining in the Virgin Islands. The great house, simple on the 
exterior, has impressively detailed interior spaces and an exceptional 
entrance porch, yet is representative of the large plantation residences 
of the period. The smaller overseer's house, factory ruins, with perhaps the 
only remaining ruins of the once thriving cotton processing industry represented 
by the ginning room, and the extensive remains of a series of animal pens and 
stables contribute to the understanding of the workings of a large plantation, 
further highlighted by the existence of the slave village, which is second 
in importance only to the village at Estate Slob. The architectural signi­
ficance of Prosperity lies not only in the individual structures but in the 
importance of the entire complex, a completely self sustained community.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Danes joined other European 
nations in securing colonies in the West Indies. The Danes hoped that 
their colonies would provide them with a permanent site for their trading 
and commercial interests. Agriculture was to serves as a supplement to 
the income provided by commerce and trading.
^5
1
■I
St. Croix surpassed the other islands in the Danish colonies in its 
agricultural development and proved to be more beneficial to the Danes. By 
the 1780's sugar plantations on St. Croix were prospering. By 1812-1814 sugar 
production on the island was at its height. There were 175 plantations in 
operation with 75% of their acreage in cane.
After the Napoleonic wars, plantation agriculture begain to decline in 
the-Danish West Indies.. Sugar production had expanded to other areas such 
as Cuba and Puerto Rico whose more fertile soil gave them an advantage over 
the Danish West Indies. Burdened by heavy debt, the planters found it im­
possible to take appropriate measures to maintain the soil. Agricultural 
methods were generally inefficient and milling operations were wasteful 
and uneconomic. Europeans added more competition for the Danes with the 
development of the sugar beet industry. Absentee landlordism made it 
difficult to maintain sufficient control over the plantations' production . 
Slavery, which provided the planters with, cheap labor, was abolished in 1848 
and, with the increase in operating expenses, many plantations discontinued 
production.
Qmajor bibliographical references
Dookhan, Isa,ac, A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States. 
Epping, Essex; Bowker Pviblishing Company, 1974.
Lewisoln, Florence. St. Croix Under Seven Flags. Hollywood, Florida; 
The Dukane Press, 1970.
EDgeographical data
ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY_________ ^
UTM REFERENCES
170 
46" North Latitude
64® 52' 56" West Longitude
a| , I I I , I , , I I , 1 t 1 . , I
ZONE EASTING 
NORTHING
J.
, I . . I I ■ I . I , .
ZONE EASTING 
NORTHING
Pj . I I I ■ I I . I I ■ I . I . . I
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION
The nominated property is located in the West End Quarter of St. Croix on 
Parcel #1, Estate Prosperity off Mahogany Road.
LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES 
STATE 
CODE 
COUNTY 
CODE
STATE
CODE
COUNTY
CODE
HIform prepared by
Russell Wright, Annie Hillary
NAME/TITLE
ORGANIZATION
DATE
V.I. Planning Office
STREET & NUMBER
P.O. Box 2606
TELEPHONE
809-774-1730
CITY OR TOWN
St. Thomas,
STATE
Virgin Islands
E0STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER CERTIFICATION
THE EVALUATED SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS PROPERTY WITHIN THE STATE IS. 
NATIONAL___ 
STATE X 
LOCAL
As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I 
hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the 
critena^^^^^^^ure^et^^h b^^|^ah^iaU’ark Service.
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICER SIGNATURE
TITLE
DATE 
/f 7?
FDRNPSUSEOHLY
J HEREBY£ERTIFY THAT THIS PROPERTY IS INCLUDED IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
DATE
iiuoTOPwe nncocn'
DATE ^
ATTEST
■WWflBHAL RCOIOTEft
Form No. 10-300a 
(Rev. 10-74)
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 
INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
FOR NPS USE ONLY
RECEIVED AUG 151977
F£8 17 1978
DATE ENTERED
CONTI NU ATION SHEET
ITEM NUMBER
PAGE Three
• 7
Zabriske, L.K. The Virgin Islands of the United States Of America - Historical 
an(3 Descriptive Commercial and Industrial Facts, Figures and Resources;
New York, 1918.
McGuire, James William. Geographic Dictionary of the Virgin Islands. Special 
Publication No. 103 (Serial No. 269), United States Coast and Geodatic Survey, 
Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 1925.
Recorder of Deeds Office, Christiansted, St. Croix
rI
ePO 692 455
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Inventory 
Review
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REVIEW UNIT CHIEF 
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Send-back
National Register Write-up 
Federal Register Entry ^• y- 7^ Re-submit
Entered f£B j 7 1978
INT;2 106-74
United States Department of the Interior National Park Service WASO No. 7
V.
f
.. V.
4'-
i.
|V
ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
state virgin islands
Date Entered
FEB 17 1978
Name
Hafolia Great Hoesa
Vectas ElU
■v,'
J-r-
Estate Perseverance
Bafeaslsht
Estate Hogansborg
Instate Prosperity 
Estate ISomt Victory
HNS Santa Nemlea
Estate Neltjeberg
lion* Ron De Lugo
Regional Director, Southeast Region 
88G 
Mott/js 
3/1/78
Location
Charlotte Analle vicinity 
8t* Thostas Island
Charlotte Amalie vicinity 
St* Thomas Island
Charlotte Analle vlclx\lty 
St* Thomas Island
Charlotte Amalie vicinity 
St. Tbotaaa Island
Chrlstlansted vicinity 
St* Croix Island
Prederlksted vicinity 
St* Grolx Island
Prederlksted vicinity 
St* Croix Island
Coral Bay vicinity 
St* John’s Islaxsi
Charlotte Amalia 
St* Thomas Island
-h.
Also Notified
a
a
j",
’.n''-I
3
State Historic Preservation Officer 
Hr* Thomas Blake
Planning Director, Virgin Islands 
Planning Board 
Charlotte Amalie
St* Thomas, Virgin Islands 00801
•V.
I
I
I-
pwws
OWNER fiPflivuTE DSTAU DMUNICIPAL DCOUNTY PMULTIFU DFEDEBAKagency name).
2)NAME as it appears on federal register:
Estate Prosneritv
^OTHER NAMES'.
/^date of entry ;
FEB 17 19:
/^county code'-
0 0800
(5) LOCATION street & number 
city / town 
vicinity of
1 tni. N of Frederlksted 
Frederlksted
state!
V.I.
1 
county
St. Croix
(gjNPS REGION
Southeast
NATIONAL REGISTER DATA SHEET
administrator ;
SEwstEt wsieitB wstMr
■ :|3KS, AUiE......................... - 
' " '-■
mm
existing surveys DHABS DhaeR □nhl|@f'Jnded-> Gyes DHO |®congress. district
!
1st [(©SOURCE of NOMINATION 3STATE □FEDERAL
0«O
il state who prepared term?
□ local DpriVATE ORGAdlZATlOH
^CONDITION
□ excellent
□ good
□ fair
□ deteriorated
□ ruins
□ unexposed
□ unexcavated
□ altered
□ unaltered
□ reconstructed
□ excavated
□ original site
□ moved 
□unknown
@£eatures'. GSUDSTANTIALLY INTACT-1 o-DSUBSTANYIALLY intact-2 ^GSUBSTANTIALLYINTACT-S 
2DN0T IMTACT-O 
2g not INTACT-O 
OQNOT INTACT -O
"□UNI(M0WN-4 
"PUNKNOWN-S 
>PUHKN0WN-6
?□ MOT APPLICABLE-7 P^r-r------------- - 
z-
uiPNOT APPLICABLE-8
iPNOT APPLICABLE-9
^ACCESS PYES-Restricted □ YES-Unrestricted □ No Access PUnknown (©ADAPTIVE USE OYESDNO® SAVED? DYES IS PROPERTY A HISTORIC DISTRICT? □ yes □ no
^ AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE •
□ ARCHEOLOGY-prehistoric-2 PCOMMERCE-6
□ ARCHEOLOGY-tiistonc-l
□ AGRICULTURE-3
□ ARCHITECTURE-4
□ ART-5
□ COMMUNICATIONS-?
□ CONSERVATION-8
□ ECONOMICS-9
□ EOUCATION-10
□ ENGINEERING-11
□ ENTERTAINMENT-26
□ EXPLORATIOM-12
□ HEALTH-27
□ INDUSTRY-13
□ INVENTION-14
□ LANDSCAPE ARCH.- 15
□ LAW- 16
□ LITERATURE-17
□ MILITARY- 18
□ MUSIC- 19
□ PHILOSOPHY-20
□ POLITICS/GOVT.-21
□ RELIGION-22
□ SCIENCE- 23
□ SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN-24
□ SOCIAL /CULTURAL-30
□ TRANSPORTATION-25
□ RECREATION -28
□ SETTLEMENT-29
□ URBAN PLANNING-31
□ OTHER (SPECIFY)
^CLAIMS: explain 
^first’D
‘ oldest’ □ 
‘only’ □
^functions
WHEN HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT: 
CURRENTLY:
^dates of Initial cinstructlon: 
major altoratiotis: 
liiotoric ovents:
ETHNIC GROUP 
ASSOCIATION
^architectural style(s):
^architect:
^master builder:
^engineer:
^landscape architect / garden designer:
^interior decorator:
Q artist:
partisan:
^builder/contractor:
& NAMES give role A date
^personal:
events:
institutional:
^NATIONAL REGISTER WRITE-UP
reviewers initials.
.date.
IIP ADDITIONAL SPACE NEEDED. NUMBER & PUT ON REVERSEI