Estate Prosperity
Prosperity is estate 18 in St. Croix’s Northside B Quarter. Based on appearances on historic maps, the windmill was likely built in the 19th century. The western half of the windmill tower collapsed in the 1970s during a hurricane, although the machine slot did not collapse despite a hearth in the mill.
Prosperity indicates how locations near the north shore in Northside B quarter provided earlier access for sugar cultivation compared to more elevated locations. No settlement is indicated through the 1750s. In the 1760s, the annotated Beck maps and manuscript copies of the Beck map indicate an animal mill hand drawn into the map except the 1770 and c.1770 annotated Beck maps.
While the 1799 Oxholm depicts an animal mill, the 1856 Parsons map indicates a windmill at Prosperity. The 20th century topographic maps indicate windmill ruins at approximately 180 feet elevation, with the top specified at 200 feet, at Prosperity.
McGuire geographic dictionary of the Virgin Islands (p.151) notes the old mill tower with the estatehouse on beach between. Prosperity later merged with estates Northstar and Canebay.
The 1760s annotated and manuscript copies of the Beck map attribute ownership Peter Markoes. The 1790s manuscript copies of Beck attribute ownership to Armstrong.
Photos of Prosperity, 2020s
Historic Maps of Prosperity
