History of the Feather Leaf Inn

feather leaf inn is the transformation

of the butler bay Plantation

built in 1760 during danish rule of St. Croix

Long before the Feather Leaf Inn existed, this land used to be the site of the Butler Bay Plantation. This was one of many plantations on the island designed to grow and harvest sugar cane for Danish profit using the labor of thousands of enslaved people stolen from Africa. The island of St. Croix was part of the Danish West Indies, a Danish colony making up the present day US Virgin Islands. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, about 97% of the population of St. Croix were people who were enslaved. The conditions of slavery were brutal and life expectancy was around 35 years.

It’s essential to remember that every piece of stone, every piece of cut coral, was put here by somebody who was forcibly enslaved. Any act of rebellion could be punishable by death and organizing was difficult because most people were confined to their plantation.

In a recent guide on the history and ecology of St. Croix, The Virgin Islands Conservation Society wrote: 

"Estate Butler’s Bay, once known as Bottler’s Bay in an attempt to promote agriculture in the area, was once a sugar and rum plantation. Three organizers of the Emancipation Revolt of 1848 were enslaved on the plantation. As such, it was a critical organizing location for emancipation."

Artistic rendition of the Butler Bay Plantation

This map provides a helpful visual to imagine what the plantation would’ve looked like. Of course, this is just one reproduction and there are some romanticized elements, such as the labeling of a “worker village.” The Butler Bay plantation was by no means a place of employment; it was a slave plantation built on the exploitation and labor of enslaved people. 

The Baobab and Saman trees are labeled on the map and they are still standing strong today, giving a glimpse into how old these trees are resilient witnesses to history. 

The Baobab tree is dedicated to a man named Moses Roberts, one of the formerly enslaved people at Butler Bay who played a crucial leadership role in the fight for emancipation. He was one of the men who helped organize the rebellion, spreading the word to other plantations and holding secret meetings at the overseer’s house, out of sight from the plantation owner.

If you want to read more about the history of enslavement, you can read our post on emancipation. 

We are fortunate to have some documentation of the history of the Butler Bay Plantation thanks to George Tyson and the St. Croix Landmarks Society.

Here is a collection of images we have compiled from various archives:

Historic Sketch by Danish artist Frederik Von Scholton (1840s)

We recognize that the telling of history of Butler Bay Plantation is limited. If you have any more information that you would like to share. Please contact us at info@featherleafinn.com