The 72-mile St. Croix Heritage Trail is being blazed with new signs so anyone – visitor or resident – can follow the Big Island’s history.
Beginning this week, the Department of Public Works began hanging 50 Heritage Trail road signs along the route that follows Queen Mary Highway between Christiansted and Frederiksted. It also includes Emancipation Drive north of Frederiksted to Hamm’s Bay, Creque Dam Road, Mahogany Road, North Shore Road, East End Road to Pt. Udall and South Shore Road to Queen Mary Highway, according to Nancy Buckingham, Heritage Trail coordinator.
The 18-inch-by-18-inch brown and white signs with a sugar mill symbol are for directional use and do not mark actual sites, Buckingham said.
"These are not site specific. They are mainly to guide people," she said. "There is no beginning or end of the trail – like any good journey."
Erecting the signs is expected to take about two weeks. Then the next step for the year-and-a-half old trail project will be in early May with the unveiling of a full-color brochure and map outlining the route. The map will highlight historic attractions, visitation sites and nature areas. Symbolic icons will point out windmills, greathouses, ruins, churches, overlooks and pullovers, and natural areas.
The trail will have three facets for people to explore, Buckingham said. Attractions include stops at the Whim Plantation Museum, St. George Botanical Garden and the rum factory. The visitation sites will include landmarks like Estate Rust Op Twist, Butler Bay Factory Ruins and Estate Anna’s Hope.
The third aspect will be up to trail travelers to discover "serendipitously" on their own, Buckingham said. Some of those include Smithen Gardens and George Rawlins’ Grove Place garden of found objects.
"They aren’t actually on the map, but because they are along the trail people can find them themselves," Buckingham said.
The St. Croix Heritage Trail signs are funded by HOVENSA and Gallows Bay Hardware. Grants from the Anti-Litter and Beautification Commission are providing the funds to spruce up Anna's Hope, Diamond School and the Butler Bay Factory ruins. The Boys and Girls Club will maintain the sites on a monthly basis.
Signs will soon be up at Butler Bay identifying the various structures, the historically and culturally significant boabab tree, and a welcome sign recognizing those entities involved in the project, Buckingham said.
The Heritage Trail was recently named one of 50 National Millennium Legacy Trails in the United States.
