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Interesting Facts
- Despite being a US territory, driving in the Virgin Islands is all on the LEFT! To further complicate things, the steering column is also on the left. Six flags had flown over the current U S Virgin Islands before they were purchased by the United States: Spanish, Dutch, British, French, Knights of Malta and Danish.
- Blackbeard's Castle is the only 17th-century fortified tower in the Caribbean.
- Hassel Island was actually attached to St. Thomas until 1860 when the Danish government separated it in order to establish a small leper colony. The space was widened by the US government in 1919, and most of the island became part of Virgin Islands National Park in the 1950s. Among the interesting sights on the island today are the ruins of two British forts, a small hotel which featured prominently in Herman Wouk's novel, Don't Stop the Carnival, and the remains of a marine railroad dating from the 1840s.
- St. Thomas is home to approximately 51,000 people, about one-third of whom live in Charlotte Amalie.
- Now-famous native sons include actor Kelsey Grammer, rapper Doug E. Fresh, artist Camille Pissarro, and ball player Elrod Hendricks.
- By 1733, all of what is today the US Virgin Islands was under the control of the Danish West India Company. In 1917, the little group of islands was sold to the US for $25 million, but it wasn't until after 1950 that the economy became tourist-driven, as it is today.
- The "newest" Virgin Island is Water Island, just off the coast of St. Thomas. The 50-acre landmass was once connected to St. Thomas, but erosion has made it its own, freestanding island.
- St. Thomas' Magens Bay Beach is considered one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in the world. Interestingly enough, St. Thomas lies completely in the Atlantic Ocean, although St Croix is in the Caribbean Sea. Situated between its two larger siblings, little St. John straddles both bodies of water.
- Although evidence of a Jewish presence on St. Thomas is traceable back to 1665, a synagogue wasn't constructed until 1796. This was replaced with a larger building in 1813. Today, the St. Thomas Synagogue has the distinction of being the second oldest in the western hemisphere. Inside, the floor is covered with clean sand to remember the biblical exodus of the Jews from Egypt.
- Be sure to count as you climb Charlotte Amalie's famous 99 steps. If you pay attention, you will find that there are actually 103 steps in this staircase, built with bricks that were used as ballast in Danish ships.
