St. Croix sites associated with American founding father Alexander Hamilton will be assessed this week by the National Park Service for inclusion in the park system, and residents will get the chance to tell the survey team why they should be.
"Public scoping meetings" will be held Tuesday and Wednesday on St. Croix as part of the Park Service’s special resource study involving Estate Grange and other sites that are associated with Hamilton’s childhood on St. Croix.
The meetings are intended as an opportunity for the National Park Service to inform the public about the study and to obtain community input.
The meetings are scheduled for:
- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Danish West India and Guinea Company Warehouse (the Old Post Office) in the Christiansted National Historic Site, 2100 Church St. No. 100, Christiansted.
- 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Rotary West Community Center, 40 KA-KD Estate La Grange, Frederiksted.
Both meetings will include a brief presentation followed by an informal discussion period. Participants will be encouraged to provide information, opinions, and ideas about Hamilton’s life on St. Croix and future management of the sites and resources under consideration.
Congress ordered the National Park Service and the government of the Virgin Islands to complete this special resource study in the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which was signed into law by President Obama. The purpose of the study is to assess the potential of certain areas for inclusion within the national park system and to report findings to Congress.
The special resource study will evaluate the sites based upon whether they are nationally significant and whether the National Park Service can effectively and efficiently manage them for resource preservation and for public use.
Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis and lived on St. Croix as a boy and young man from 1765 to 1772. During the American Revolution he was aide de camp and confidante to George Washington. After the war Hamilton was instrumental in writing and gaining ratification of the U.S. Constitution, then served in Washington’s cabinet as the first secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
