chattel-house-st-kitts.jpeg
discover us for yourself
Scroll Down

Discover

the stories of our proud and friendly people, our charming and colourful villages, our fascinating ruins, our intriguing rain forests,
and our traditions that span centuries.

Our People

Prev Next

Mary Charles

 

Mary Charles George   Mary Georgina Charles-George was born on 19 July 1913 to Henry Elijah Charles and Frances Ann nee Carey of Phillips Village. Both of her parents were skilled people who had grown up in the same village. Henry was a carpenter and Frances as a seamstress. Mary was their first child and they instilled in her a good work ethic and a great sense of pride. As a child she attended the Estridge Moravian School...

Read more

Samuel Cable

 

  Between 1829 and 1839, Samuel Cable was the editor of the St. Christopher Advertiser and Weekly Intelligencer, a family-owned newspaper founded c. 1782. He was a member of a free coloured family that had originated in Antigua and had welcomed Thomas Coke to St. Kitts when he was working at establishing the Methodist Church in the region. The Cables, like so many others of their class owned domestic slaves and used skilled slaves in their...

Read more

William Frederick Solomon

 

William Frederick Solomon was born in 1881. Little is known of his youth except that he had learnt the carpenter’s trade and in 1911 he was employed on the construction of the Basseterre Sugar Factory. He was dismissed form that job because of his anti-management attitudes. He had successfully attempted to manufacture and sell soap but eventually went into business as a building contractor and undertaker working out of Liverpool Row. By 1917 he had...

Read more

Our Places

Prev Next

Bank Street

 

Bank Street The Road heading east from the Circus is Bank Street. A bank has been at its southern corner where it meets Fort Street for almost 200 years. The first one was probably Colonial Bank which was set up by Royal Charter in 1836 to trade in the West Indies. The former enslavers had been given £20 million as compensation for the loss of their unpaid labour. This meant that there was a significant increase in...

Read more

Douglas Estate

 

Douglas estate lies north of Basseterre. It was once called Pensez-y-bien.  Douglas The estate was part of the French Basseterre Quarter but at this point nothing is known about its French owners.  By 1714 it was in possession of Colonel Walter Douglas.  He was one of seven sons of William Douglas of Baads and his wife Joan.  Three of his brothers practiced  medicine, with James in particular becoming famous as an obstetrician whose research on female anatomy...

Read more

Caines Estate

 

Caines estate is located near the village of Dieppe Bay. It was part of the French Quarter called Capisterre. It is not clear when members of the Caines family arrived in St. Kitts. CAINESOn the 15th August 1726 Charles Caines offered to buy a plantation in Capeseterre Quarter above Deep Bay from the Commissioners for the sale of the French Lands. It contained 152 acres 3 roods and 7 perches. At the time, thirty acres were...

Read more

Our Events

Prev Next

Independence 19 September 1983

 

National Flag of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis Statehood, granted in 1967 was viewed by all former territories as a transitions stage. The hope of an one independent West Indian nation had been crushed in 1962. It became necessary for the individual states to work out their own future. In the elections of 1975 the Labour Party obtained a mandate to seek independence from Britain. Discussions started in earnest in 1976 but an effective resolution of...

Read more

Labour Day - first Monday in May

 

Labour Day March, 1955 The afternoon events at the park were well attended. The Union’s Entertainment Committee organised a Steel Band Competition. Esso, Wilberforce, Amstel, Boston Braves, Battalion and Invaders competed with the last emerging as the winners. Lord Croft sang a special Labour Day Calypso. The bands then played on the streets of Basseterre. Looking to the future, the Messenger’s editorial declared, “The idea is not yet as firmly rooted as it might have been, but...

Read more

Flood of 1880

 

Sunday, 11 January 1880 was described as a fine day with some scattered showers.  At about 5.00pm the atmosphere became quite warm compared to the previous few days.   Then at about 9.00pm an intense cold set it.  There was a light shower which quickly came to an end.  By 11.00 pm the rains started falling and continued unabated till 3.00am of 12 January.  The night was very dark. The flow of water in the streets was...

Read more

"In this  bright future, you can't forget your past"

Interactive Map

Move your mouse over the red map markers to view information about each particular location. To read more, click the marker for further information. Locations may also be selected using the adjacent listbox.