Estate Bellevue
Bellevue is estate 35 in St. Croix’s Company’s Quarter. Based on appearances on historic maps, the windmill was likely built in the 1760s and decommissioned before 1856. The estate was likely named for the beautiful views to the north and east. The windmill tower is in good condition.
The first sign of sugar cultivation in estate 35 on historic maps is the second printing of the Beck map in the mid-1750s. The annotated and manuscript copies of Beck added sails to depict a windmill by 1766.
The 1778 and 1799 Oxholm maps both depict a windmill, with the 1778 map also including an animal mill while naming it Bella Vue and the 1799 map naming the estate belle vue. The 1778 map locates other structures down the hill to the northeast. The 1856 Parsons map depicts a tower without sails at Belle Vue.
The 1919 topographic sheet notes a ruin identifiable as a windmill at Bellbue. The later topographic maps also depict ruins identifiable as a windmill at the top of the ridge.
The 1750 map attributes ownership to Feret. The annotated Beck maps and manuscript copies in the 1760s and 1770s attribute ownership to Capt. Joh. Wilhelm Schopen or his heirs. By 1790, ownership transitioned to Rogeirs.
McGuire geographic dictionary of the Virgin Islands (p.33) notes mill near summit of Bellevue Hill (noting that elevation 466 feet high) with the estate house NE at 220-feet elevation, nearer roads.
Historic Maps of Bellevue
