ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9604040005
SECTION: TRAVEL PAGE: G-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SUZANNE MURPHY-LARRONDE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Cultural tourism in the Caribbean has become a flourishing fact of life over the last several decades as islands like Puerto Rico, Barbados and St. Croix have come to preserve and promote their unique historical legacies as an important strategy in attracting visitors.
Another noteworthy light in this expanding galaxy is Nevis (pronounced NEE-vis), a palmy, 36-square-mile piece of real estate located at the northern reaches of the Lesser Antilles. For decades, this low-key vacation haunt has offered visitors a taste of history along with the standard tropical menu of sun, sand and surf. Its gracious plantation inns, converted sugar estates from the 17th and 18th centuries, spearheaded the tradition and remain stellar attractions along with the seaside settlement of Charlestown, one of the most beautifully preserved towns in the Caribbean.
Carib Indians, French invaders, a North American patriot and a dashing naval hero, all played roles in shaping Nevis' starcrossed history, although the island's chief claim to fame evolved as the hub of British colonial interests in the Caribbean. In the late 1600s, the "Queen of the Caribbees," as it came to be known, scaled the economic heights as the region's premium-quality sugar producer, while earning itself a dubious distinction as slave trade hub for the Leeward chain during its massive conscription of Africans to work the plantations.
By the 1800s, in the wake of natural disasters, epidemics and numerous plunderings by French forces, the sugar cookie had begun to crumble. Over the next century, beet sugar production and emancipation would deal the final blows to Nevis' economy. In modern times, the continuing slump forced many islanders to migrate in search of employment as progress eluded their island homeland. Meanwhile, the great houses with their conical windmills, brick chimneys and rambling stone walls, were finally abandoned in the 1920s and '30s and quietly languished under a tropical sun.
During its heyday, an estimated 80 plantations dotted the Nevisian landscape and today about a half dozen of these original properties have been resurrected as historic inns. One of the first to convert was the gracious Golden Rock Hotel, an authentic sugar estate dating from the early 1800s. Set amidst some of the island's most luxuriant vegetation, it presides over the southern flanks of Mount Nevis from its perch at a rarified 1,000 feet with spectacular views of the palm-lined coast and Caribbean. Cooling breezes keep things comfortable, even at the height of summer.
Like the other plantation inns, Golden Rock is something of an open-air museum, incorporating a sugar mill, chimney and other vintage architecture into its 100 acres. The original wooden greathouse was destroyed by fire years ago, but a wealth of weathered volcanic-stone structures have survived. The old kitchen with its baking ovens and intricate vaulted ceiling, now serves as the hotel bar and library. A bougainvillea-draped arbor welcomes guests for breakfast, afternoon tea and cocktails and the spring-fed pool is bracketed by royal palm.
A neighboring plantation inn, The Hermitage, purveys its own distinctive version of Nevisian colonial heritage with a fanciful collection of Creole-style buildings set in 10 acres lush with cashew, breadfruit, tamarind and mango trees. Its architectural centerpiece, a 250-year-old shingled farmhouse, is thought to be the Antilles' oldest surviving wood structure. Despite numerous additions, including a modern kitchen and al fresco dining area, this restored house still boasts original ironwood framework in its antique-filled sitting room.
A dozen or so refurbished cottages serve as guest quarters and public areas at The Hermitage. Many are typical West Indian workers' cabins that have been rescued from around the island and incorporated into the inn's surroundings. Painted in vibrant candy colors, they sport cool verandahs, decorative cutout trim, jalousied shutters and high-pitched, tin roofs smothered in bougainvillea. A swimming pool, riding stables, tennis courts and a small cane mill are also part of this engaging complex along with gardens and orchards edged by meandering dry-stone walls.
Skirting the eastern coastline, six-block-long Charlestown, population 1,300, is the nearest Nevis comes to a metropolis. A striking assemblage of 19th-century galleried town houses lines narrow Main Street with its two shaded squares. In the old days, stone warehouses occupied the ground floors while their prosperous merchant owners resided above in second-story homes built of wood to protect against tremors. In 1991, the town's preservation movement took a giant leap forward when an old hardware store facing demolition was converted instead to accommodate Barclays Bank. Since then, other vintage gems, including the tourism office and popular Eddy's Bar and Grill, have been buffed back to their original perfection.
Charlestown's vigorous restoration campaign, spearheaded by the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society, netted it the prestigious American Express Preservation Award in 1992. Meanwhile, the town's discovery of what may be the region's oldest synagogue ruins, has attracted international interest and American archaeologists to study excavation work taking place near the adjoining Jewish cemetery. In the 1640s, Brazilian Jews fled the Inquisition for the safety of Protestant islands in the Caribbean carrying with them the secret for crystallizing sugar. On Nevis, they were active both as merchants and planters, but in the mid-1700s, many moved on as economic conditions worsened.
While strolling through Charlestown, visitors can stop by the Hamilton Museum, a replica of the Georgian-style home where Alexander Hamilton was born. This native son went on to become a colonel in the American Revolutionary Army, a framer of the Constitution and first secretary of the U.S. Treasury. Exhibits follow his career through manuscripts, pictures and letters. Lord Horatio Nelson, is the other celebrated figure most often linked to the island's history. A Nelson Museum displays memorabilia of his naval career and courtship of Francis "Fanny" Nisbet, a wealthy young widow he met and subsequently married at Montpelier Plantation in 1787.
A circle island tour, about 20 miles in length, is another great way to view Nevis' other historical treasures. The solidly-build religious bastions, Fig Tree Church and St. James Anglican Church, are just two of dozens of centuries-old stone buildings to be found en route and around Charlestown. Both still hold Sunday services while doubling as shelters during hurricanes. (Last season's hurricanes left the island unscathed and fully operational). Another fine old stone pile is the Newcastle Redoubt, which sports crenulated walls and musket slots. Its seaside entrance leads historians to believe that it was built by early European settlers to ward off Carib Indian attacks.
Last but not least, are the wealth of bright Creole cottages still seen along Nevisian roadways. Merging African and European influences with their symmetrical facades, lacey gingerbread and shady porches, these modest dwellings are a priceless part of the region's collective architectural tradition. Cultural heritage forces in both the government and private sectors hope these unique but most fragile of Nevist colonial legacies can be preserved in the coming years as the island confronts its latest challenge, expanding economic prosperity and the accompanying pressures for change.
More information
Documents and currency: Entry requirements for the twin-island nation of St. Kitts-Nevis include a passport or proof of citizenship. The U.S. dollar is accepted everywhere.
Climate: Columbus sighted Nevis with its central mountain wreathed in clouds, and baptized it, Nuestra Senora de las Nieves, Our Lady of the Snows. Names aside, the island's year-round climate averages about 79 degrees with no rainy season. At night, temperatures drop into the low 70s.
Getting around: Rental cars require a visitor driver's license, which costs about $12. Driving is on the left side of the road. Local transportation includes minibuses and taxis.
Who goes: This is not a mass tourism destination. Regulars include history buffs, beach aficionados and nature-lovers. The government hopes to encourage that trend while striking a balance between development and environmental protection.
Shopping: The Philatelic Bureau in Charlestown is famous for its first day covers of island fauna and flora, marine life and history. A number of shops offer locally produced sea island cotton wear, basketwork and typical, red clay pottery.
Historic and eco touring: The NHCS offers frequent guided walks and talks with guest lecturers including archaeologists and naturalists working on Arawak digs and turtle preservation. Call 469-5786. David Rollinson of the Nevis Academy guides visitors around Charlestown and to plantation ruins. Call 469-2091. For ecorambles and explorations of ruins and historic sites, call Jim Johnson at 469-5371 or 469-5198.
LENGTH: Long : 148 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: SUZANNE MURPHY-LARRONDE. 1. Nevis offers a large dose ofby CNBcultural tourism and wide expanses of beaches. 2. Bright Creole
cottages sit along Nevisian roadways. color.