Estate Little La Grange

Little La Grange is estate 30 in St. Croix’s West End Quarter. The only indication of a windmill on historic maps is the icon for a decommissioned windmill tower on the 1856 Parsons map. The windmill sits on a ridge above the rest of the sugar-era buildings and ruins in the valley below. The windmill is in good condition.

The name Little La Grange likely stems from its location just east of the company’s plantation, La Grange. The estate now known as Little La Grange appears to have been settled during the French period by Boussonniere. The 1750 map shows the estate to be forested. Both printed Beck maps of the 1750s depict no sugar machinery in estate 30.

Nearly all of the annotated Beck maps along with both manuscript copies from the 1760s include an animal mill in estate 30, with three maps placing the animal mill in the northwest corner and three in the south center.

The 1778 and 1799 Oxholm maps include an animal mill on the border of estates 30 and 33 comprising little la Grange. The 1856 Parsons map indicates a decommissioned windmill tower with no sails at Little Grange at an elevation of 267 feet.

Ownership is not attributed on the 1750 map. All of the annotated Beck maps from the 1760s along with both manuscript copies attribute ownership to Cronelius Hendricksen and on some maps this ownership extends east to estate 29. Oxholm’s 1778 map of Frederiksted attribute ownership to Major Henricksen. The 1790s manuscript copies of Beck attribute ownership to Hendericksen, comprising both estates 30 and 33 to the north.

The 1920s topographic map locates the Little Grange Mill at 330 feet elevation. The 1958 and 1982 topographic maps indicate ruins of a windmill in a similar location at Little La Grange at between 300 and 320 feet elevation, confirmed through field reconnaissance.

As the McGuire geographic dictionary of the Virgin Islands (p. 117) describes, this estate had extensive banana fields in the 1920s.

Photos of Little La Grange, 2020s

Little La Grange windmill exterior from the west featuring the main entrance.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the west featuring the main entrance. Material around the opening was mostly removed, with a few bricks remaining. Evidence of plaster remains on the windmill’s exterior. The rim around the top of the windmill indicates the top portion of the mill did not collapse.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the southwest featuring the main entrance.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the southwest featuring the main entrance. The square opening near the top of the mill is the exit of the flue from the hearth inside the mill. The machine slot is to the right.
Little La Grange windmill interior facing northwest featuring the juice trough opening.
Little La Grange windmill interior facing northwest featuring the main entrance, bagasse, and juice trough openings. The removal of the bricks from the main entrance and juice trough openings makes them look larger than they were during windmill operating days. The bagasse opening has minimal material removal.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the northeast featuring the window.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the northeast featuring the window. None of the bricks around the window appear to have been removed, providing an understanding of what the other openings looked like before material removal.
Little La Grange windmill interior facing east featuring the window.
Little La Grange windmill interior facing east featuring the window. The exterior of the window being smaller than the interior facilitates breezes entering the mill, underlining the window’s importance in ventilation. Brick line the interior and exterior of the window.
Little La Grange windmill interior facing southeast featuring the hearth.
Little La Grange windmill interior facing southeast featuring the hearth. While the nearby window provided ventilation and light during the day, the hearth could hold a fire that would help light the windmill working area at night. The flue goes up and to the right, over the machine slot. The beam holes and ledge above the window and hearth would have supported a working floor to help with machinery maintenance.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the southeast featuring the machine slot.
Little La Grange windmill exterior from the southeast featuring the machine slot. Much of the brick lining the opening was removed, leaving the fieldstone. The hole to the bottom right of the machine slot is a timber slot that would have anchored a timber to tie off ropes used to move the top cap and secure the sails when the mill did not operate.

Historic Maps of Little La Grange

Snippet of the U.S. Geological Service topographic map 1982 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1982 photorevision depicts the same ruins as the1958 map with a couple more structures in the valley below.
Snippet of the U.S. Geological Service topographic map of 1958featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1958 USGS topographic map indicates a windmill ruin between 300-320 feet elevation. One structure to the west lies in the valley, south of the stream.
Snippet of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey topographic map of 1920 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1920 USGS topographic map identifies the Little La Grange mill at an elevation of 330 feet. Other structures lie in the valley below, south of the stream.
Snippet of the Danish Atlantic Islands Association map of 1907 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1907 map indicates a windmill ruin at Estate Little la Grange.
Snippet of the Parsons map of 1856 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
Parsons’ 1856 map depicts a tower with no sails at 267 feet elevation in Estate Little Grange. Other structures lie close to the stream in the valley below the mill.
Snippet of the Oxholm map of 1799 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
Oxholm’s 1799 map indicates an animal mill on the border of estates 30 and 33 with the estate name little la Grange. No other structures are indicated at this mill south of the stream. A dotted line between the two indicates ownership by a single individual, since the vast majority of the estates on this map have solid borders all the way around. A structure north of the stream reflects the settlement on the north side of the stream, although no animal mill is depicted.
Snippets of the Mühlenfels map of 1790 & the Janssen map of 1791 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1790 & 1791 manuscript maps after Beck by Mühlenfels & Janssen attribute ownership to Hendericksen of both estates 30 and 33.
Snippet of the Oxholm map of Frederiksted from 1778 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
Oxholm’s 1778 map of Frederiksted shows ownership, attributed to Major Henricksen, now stretches north and south of the stream. On the south side of the stream, an animal mill is depicted surrounded by plantation structures to the east, west, and south (note north is to the left on this map). A slave village is to the south of this cluster. On the north side of the stream, in what is estate 33, another animal mill is located in the south center of the estate with a slave village immediately to the northeast and other structures past that to the northeast.
Snippet of the Küffner map of 1767 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
Küffner’s 1767 Beck replica includes an indication of settlement in the area of Estate Little La Grange.
Snippet of the Zöllner manuscript copy of Beck from 1766 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
Zöllner’s 1766 manuscript copy of Beck’s map depicts animal mills in both estates 29 and 30, with Cornelis Hendricksen attributed ownership.
Snippet of the 1766 unsigned Beck manuscript copy featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1766 unsigned manuscript copy of Beck’s map depicts animal mills in both estates 29 and 30, with Cornelius Hendrichsen attributed ownership.
Snippet of the annotated Beck map of c.1770 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1770 annotated Beck map illustrates no mills in estates 29 and 30, with Holiday attributed ownership of 29 and Cornelius Hendrichsen attributed ownership of 30. The names underlined in red indicate sugar plantations.
Snippets of the annotated Beck maps of 1767-1770 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1767, c.1767, and c.1770 annotated Beck maps illustrate hand-drawn animal mills in the northwest corner of both estates 29 and 30, with Cornel Kortright, with different spellings, attributed ownership of 29 and Cornel or Major Hendricksen attributed ownership of 30.
Snippet of the annotated Beck map of 1766 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1766 annotated Beck map illustrates an animal mill hand drawn in the south-central portion of estate Little La Grange. Ownership is attributed to Cornelis Hendrichsen, encompassing both estates 29 and 30. Estate 29 is also depicted with a hand-drawn animal mill on this map.
Snippet of the Beck map printed in 1754 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
In the 1750s, the first and second printings of the Beck map show no sugar machinery.
Snippet of the Cronenberg and von Jaegersberg map of 1750 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
The 1749 map shows the estate as forested.
Snippet of the Lapointe map of 1671 featuring West End Quarter estate # 30, currently named Little La Grange.
During the French period, in the vicinity of Little La Grange, the name Buissonniere appears.