Estate Williams Delight

Williams Delight is estate 41 in St. Croix’s Prince’s Quarter. Based on appearances on historic maps, the windmill was likely built in the 19th century but did not appear on any historic maps. The windmill was incorporated into a dwelling, the former School of the Good Shepherd. The windmill tower is partly collapsed.

The 1750 map shows cotton cultivation and the only sugar mill icon on a historic map appears with the animal mill on the 1799 Oxholm map. The 1920s topographic sheet shows a mill in ruins while the later topographic maps show no indication of ruins. This may be partly explicable by the incorporation of the windmill ruin into a school.

The 1750 map attributed ownership to Johan Schmidt. With a split of the estate, the annotated Beck maps and manuscript copies attribute ownership to the Seth Smith in the north and William Richardson in the south. By 1790, ownership consolidated to Smith.

McGuire geographic dictionary of the Virgin Islands (p.199) does not mention a windmill, although does note that in the 1920s the area was planted in sugar cane.

Photos of Williams Delight, 2020s

Truncated windmill tower under a blue sky. Single-story buildings extend from either side of the mill.
Williams Delight windmill exterior from the northeast featuring the windows added when the mill was converted to a dwelling.
Top of windmill tower with building to the front and the right.
Williams Delight windmill exterior from the east featuring the construction material. Note the lines of stones used to build the mill.

Historic Maps of Williams Delight

Snippets of the U.S. Geological Service topographic maps of 1958 & 1982 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
The 1958 and 1982 photorevision of the USGS topographic map show no indication of ruins at Williams Delight.
Snippet of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey topographic map of 1920 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
The 1920 USCGS topographic sheet shows a mill in ruins just north of the name Old Pye in the northeast quadrant of Williams Delight.
Snippet of the Danish Atlantic Islands Association map of 1907 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
The 1907 map identifies an estate at Williams Delight.
Snippet of the Parsons map of 1856 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
Parsons’ 1856 map depicts no structures in the area of Williams Delight.
Snippet of the Oxholm map of 1799 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
Oxholm’s 1799 map shows an animal mill just west of the stream in the northeast corner of Old pye.
Snippets of the Mühlenfels map of 1790 & the Janssen map of 1791 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
The 1790 & 1791 manuscript maps after Beck by Mühlenfels & Janssen attribute ownership to Smith.
Snippet of the Küffner map of 1767 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
Küffner’s 1767 manuscript copy of Beck’s map depicts a settlement but no sugar mill and attributes no ownership in the area of Williams Delight.
Snippets of all 5 annotated Beck maps plus the 2 manuscript copies made from 1766 to 1770 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
None of the annotated Beck maps or manuscript copies include a sugar mill icon in estate 41. All these maps attribute ownership to the Seth Smith in the north and William Richardson in the south.
Snippets of both Beck maps printed in 1754 & circa 1757 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
Neither Beck printing shows a sugar mill icon in estate 41.
Snippet of the Cronenberg and von Jaegersberg map of 1750 featuring Prince's Quarter estate # 41, currently named Williams Delight.
The 1750 map by Cronenberg and von Jægersberg indicates cotton cultivation and structures but no animal mill in estate 41. Ownership attributed to Johan Schmidt.