A Drive Around St. Croix

Stop 3 - Frederiksted, St. Croix

Almost in the middle of St. Croix's westernmost coast lies Frederiksted, the island's second major town. Frederiksted is a "sleepy" little town with lots of historic charm and a very slow-paced way of life. This is reflected in the colorful old buildings that house some of the town's gift shops, restaurants, and other businesses.

Colorful buildings of "sleepy" Frederiksted

But Frederiksted is also the jumping off point for visitors to St. Croix who arrive on the occasional cruise ships. This is because Frederiksted's harbor is the only one on St. Croix (other than Hess Oil's oil transport facility) deep enough to accommodate the large cruise ships.

A cruise ship calls at Frederiksted

Adjacent to the dock is a cluster of quaint kiosks where local vendors can sell souvenir T-shirts and various local arts and crafts.

Frederiksted's vendors' marketplace

A short distance away from the Frederiksted cruise ship dock lies Fort Frederik, which played an important role in United States and St. Croix history. When the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, the Danish fired the cannons at Fort Frederik in the first foreign salute to the new United States of America. More significantly for the islands, Fort Frederik was the site where General Peter von Scholten, the Governor of the Danish West Indies, signed the declaration of emancipation of the slaves in the islands. That occurred on July 3, 1848.

Fort Frederik, site of the emancipation of the slaves

Fort Frederik also saluted the United States in 1776

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003