Pre-Construction
Why buy a pre-built home that may
not suit your exact specifications when you can purchase
a home within your budget and meeting all of your needs
and desires? Select exactly the options you want, pay only
for the amenities that you want, and see your dream home
built before your very eyes.
Invest
With only a handful of lots on the
market at any time, stunning views, and the possibility
of owning property in a secluded tropical paradise only
minutes from downtown Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, makes
it clear that Water Island is a great real estate investment!
Retire
Whether it's the warm weather (temperatures
remain in the 80s (28C) year around), the activties (golfing,
sailing, diving, or just lying by the pool, to name a
few), or the great retirement community (how about lunch
with the R.O.M.E.O.s? - "Retired
Old Men Eating Out") - Water Island is an ideal place
to spend your Golden Years!
Live
Only a few minutes by ferry away,
St. Thomas is the economic hub of the Virgin Islands, and
employment opportunities abound. Water Island boasts proximity
to a major international airport, and with high-speed internet
access on the island, you can telecommute anywhere.
The Antilles
School is an award-winning private
school attended by children from around the Caribbean, and
with a variety of leisure activities - fine dining, water
sports, cultural events, and travel - you won't lack for
things to do on the weekend!
Information
about Water Island, USVI
Water
Island is a 500 acre (202.34 hectare, .78
square mile, 2 square kilometer) island located
in the center of Charlotte Amalie harbor in
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is a secluded,
semi-private, exclusive island with less than
200 residents (according to the 2000 census).
It is located at N
18° 19'12.02" W064° 57'11.91".
The
first recorded inhabitants of Water Island were
the Arawak Indians in the early 1400's. Four
small Indian campsites with pottery, tools and
human remains have been uncovered on the island.
In the
days of piracy, Water Island was used both for anchorage
and for fresh water. Water Island gets it's name
from the numerous fresh water ponds that were once
found there. Pirates and other sea farers would
replenish their water supplies from these ponds.
Water
Island, during the years of European colonization
in the late 1600's, was used for grazing cattle
and goats. The livestock was owned by the Danish
West Indian Company and was used to feed colonist
on St. Thomas.
Water
Island's history of ownership post colonization
is very interesting. It was uncommon to find
non-white plantation owners, however numerous
free colored men owned Water Island and operated
plantations on it. Detailed Danish records
of property ownership exist from 1769 to 1914
however around 1710, it is said that a sail-maker
by the name of William Breitz lived with his
family on Water Island. Upon Breitz's death,
the property changed hands to Albert de Ruyter.
Ruyter was owner until his death in 1719.
From the
mid-1700s
through the 1800s the island was owned by various
individuals, including plantation owners of African
ancestry. Records
from the 18th-century indicate that Water Island was
used for livestock and cotton production.
Joseph
Daniel's heirs sold Water Island to the Danish East
Asiatic Company for $21,000 in 1905. In 1917, the
United States Government bought the Danish West
Indies (St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John) from
Denmark but Water Island continued to be owned by
the East Asiatic Company.
In
1950 the Department of Defense turned Water
Island over to the Department of the Interior
who then leased it to a private developer
by the name of Walter Phillips. Walter Phillips
sold the master lease for Water Island in
December 1965 to the Water Isle Hotel &
Beach Club under the ownership of Edward McArdle.
McArdle expanded the hotel and built/sold
some private homes. In 1989 Hurricane Hugo
severely damaged the hotel and it subsequently
closed. The lease ran out three years later
and was not renewed.
Water
Island was transferred by the federal government
to the USVI territorial government on December 12th,
1996; making Water Island the 4th member of the
US Virgin Islands. Residents living on Water Island
during the transfer were allowed to purchase the
land and homes that they occupied.
