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1948 |
January 28 |
-Donald Downs invites a group to meet
at his house to talk about preserving landmarks |
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February 5 |
-Name adopted: St. Croix Landmarks League |
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March 9 |
-Bylaws adopted, League is official |
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-League raises $1,110.65 to repair
walls of Fort Christian |
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-Danish Sentry Box plans drawn, Box
built for Government House $287.00, new gate and plantings for
Limpricht Park $188.95 |
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-League appeals to Denmark to return
Ballroom furnishings to Govt. House |
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1951 |
January 19 |
-Municipal Council creates St. Croix
Museum Commission to receive local, federal and private funds for
museum collection |
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-League urges and Municipal Council
create Public Park and Beach Facility at Altona Lagoon in
Christiansted Museum partly funds archeology work (2 from Yale & 1
from Harvard) |
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-Museum accepts funds, buys Andersen
Indian Relics collection and sets up exhibit on the first floor of the
Christiansted Library |
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-League invites National Park Service
to create Historic Site in Christiansted; receives a favorable report
FIRST League member attending 5th National Council (now National
Trust) |
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October 22
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-League is voted Award of Merit from
National Association for State and Local History (DC) (see also 1976) |
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1952 |
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-Collection of books and documents begins to build |
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-Museum asked to consider Whim as a
museum site by Municipal Council |
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-Charles Emanuel's collection of
Spirituals are arranged to music |
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-Museum begins to collect samples of
Frederiksted scroll work |
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-FIRST curator hired
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Cyril Marshall |
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-League places historic marker plaque
at Frederiksted Fort |
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-FIRST attendant and guide hired, Miss
Valmoer Jacobs (serves 30 yrs) |
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-FIRST school visits to talk about
Indian Relics and Colonial issues |
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-FIRST school field trips to Salt River
-and other-Indian sites |
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-Reproductions of ballroom furnishings
restored to Government House by the Danish Government Chrstiansted
designated a National Historic Site |
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1953 |
March 10 |
-League pledges $500 to restore Steeple
building for Museum display of the Indian and colonial items
January-February Marshall goes for National Park Service Training in
DC |
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-League publishes Folmer Andersen's
"Notes on St. Croix" (1st publication) |
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1954 |
May 11 |
-League holds its first Frederiksted
meeting |
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September 24 |
-Municipal Council disbands
Museum,Commission, creates St. Croix Museum
Inc. (one of its last Acts)
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-FIRST 24 September Whim is leased to
St. Croix MuseumInc. by Council |
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-Museum creates African Influences
display; Hamilton display; carnival display; Protestant Cay
display;1878 uprising display; 1954 Organic Act display |
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-Elisha Stapleton becomes caretaker at
Whim |
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1955 |
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-Sentry Box vandalized, new one built
by League |
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-National Park Service still unfunded,
Museum carrying costs Steeple building expected to be turned over to
Museum by July or August Governor Alexander pledges a match of $15,000
for Whim restoration |
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1956 |
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-FIRST House Tours held under AI Hogue, 5 Wednesdays, 220 tickets sold
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-New governor refuses to honor predecessor's pledge |
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1957 |
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-Roof work underway at Whim privately
funded by Thayer of Butler Bay Floors at Whim replaced, also funded by
Thayer |
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-League completes the installation of
134 mahogany street signs in Danish |
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1958 |
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-League convinces Queen of Denmark to
return King's portrait to Government House -10th anniversary of League
celebrated |
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December |
-Governor Merwin declares he wants
Limpricht Park for parking |
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1959 |
January 20 |
-League holds discussion on Limpricht
Park issue, defeats it |
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-Museum repairs cookhouse; sets up a boiling house display in slave
quarters beside cookhouse |
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1960 |
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-Federal HABS survey completed on WHIM |
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1961 |
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-FIRST Museum Board meeting held at
Whim site May 3rd Norman Sweetser hired as Director at Whim
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-Downs urges a Hamilton memorial |
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-Discussions held to merge League and
Museum |
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-Buck Island & Reef declared a National
Monument |
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1962 |
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-FIRST
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March 18
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party at Whim, for neighbors; for
public 20th March, then opens for visitors 6 days a week |
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-Stables converted to offices at Whim |
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-Requests Governor to lease the
windmill at Whim for restoration, Ron DeLugo works to accomplish this
when Governor refuses |
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-Visitor count for first 8 months
totals 1118 (average of 6 per day) |
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1963 |
January |
-The Museum and League legally merge into "Society" |
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1964 |
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-National Park opens the Steeple
building with Andersen collection |
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-Ron DeLugo pushes through lease for
windmill at Whim for Society |
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-First Art Show at Whim |
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-Society prints Romantic History of St.
Croix by Florence Lewisohn |
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-Grounds around mill cleaned of trash
and landscaped |
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1965 |
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-Mill works located In Nevis, given as gift by artist Eve Wilkins
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-Norman Sweetser retires at age of 72 |
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1966 |
January |
-Gift shop opens in the little room off the Greathouse |
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-Mr. Carroll Hopf hired as Director, quits after 6 months; replaced by
Ralph Fuller; Bob Brown is interim Curator/conservator for the summer |
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-Cookhouse exhibit opens; boiling house display opens |
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-Bethelehem Sugar Cane Factory closed by VICORP |
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