Estate Longford
Longford is estate 28 in St. Croix’s Company’s Quarter. Based on appearances on historic maps, the windmill was likely built in the 1760s. The windmill was blocked to store water after decommissioning. The windmill has been reduced to a foundation with a small amount of the tower wall standing.
The 1750 map depicts cotton and provision cultivation in estate 28. Neither Beck printed map includes a sugar mill icon in estate 28. Due to the extensive nature of the plantation owned by Christopher McEvoy & Nicholay Tuite, the exact placement of the windmill on the annotated Beck maps and manuscript copies creates a bit of confusion. The majority place the windmill in the southern portion of estate 22, just north of estate 28.
The 1799 Oxholm map depicts a windmill at Langford. The 1856 Parsons map depicts a windmill at the analogous location at Longford. The 1919 topographic sheet depicts a stone fanmill while the later topographic maps depict no ruins at Longford.
The 1750 map attributes ownership to Joseph Richardsen in the north and the Widow Walter Welk in the south. The Beck variants from 1766 through 1791 maps attribute ownership of estate 28 to Christopher McEvoy as a portion of a much larger plantation, sometimes combining ownership with Nicolay Tuite.
McGuire geographic dictionary of the Virgin Islands (p.119) notes the farmstead centrally located and originally owned by of Nichol Tuite and Ferrall for the estate 28 portion of a larger.
Historic Maps of Longford
