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Virgin Islands National Park
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In 1956 Laurance Rockefeller purchased more than half of the tropical paradise of St. John and donated 5,000 acres to the federal government to help create a national park. Today Virgin Islands National Park encompasses some 12,900 acres, including most of the islands beaches, the remains of centuries-old sugar plantations, large tracts of undeveloped tropical forest, and some 5,650 acres of surrounding waters. Hassel Island in St. Thomas Harbor is also part of the park designation.
Although Virgin Islands NP has been on the SRC radar screen for many years, there has never been a systematic survey of submerged cultural resources off St. John or Hassel Island. Most underwater archeological research activity on St. John has been under the auspices of the NPS Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC)and that has been fragmentary, usually in association with other SEAC missions. As early as 1972, Dan Lenihan (then working for SEAC) was working on the underwater component for an Archeological Resources Management Plan for Virgin Islands NP. Wayne Prokopetz and Chris Hamilton from SEAC conducted occasional underwater work there in the mid-1970s and Dave Brewer coordinated SEAC involvement there in the 1980s. |
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| Archeologist Larry Murphy from the SRC traveled to Virgin Islands NP in September 1985 to assess the cultural and natural resource environment. He determined that the potential for historic shipwrecks within the parks jurisdiction was high. Also the rapid growth of sport diving and the tourism industry were factors contributing to the recommendation that a survey of park waters for shipwrecks be included in long-range cultural resource management plans. Murphy recommended phased surveys because of the difficulties of covering the whole park with microwave positioning systems. This was before the real-time survey capabilities of GPS had been developed to the point that global positioning would have been the tool of choice. Given the present state of the art in GPS, a complete survey of Virgin Islands NP waters is now much more practical and appropriate.
During Summer 2002 the East Carolina University Maritime Studies Program, in partnership with Virgin Islands NP, conducted phase II excavations and remote sensing in the park. Two shipwrecks sites were examined, one an 18th century vessel in Lienster Bay associated with the Anaberg Plantation. The second the site of the HMS Santa Monica, an 18th century British vessel lost during the American Revolution, which now rests just outside the park boundaries. ECU also conducted a remote sensing survey along the south east shore of the island. |
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- 1985 Larry Murphy from SRC conducts reconaissance over several days and recommends phased survey of the parks submerged bottoms.
- Mid 1970s-1980s - occasional visits and recons by underwater archeologists attached to the NPS Southeast Archeological Center.
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Related Links
Virgin Islands National Park
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