Estate Whim Museum & Sugar Mill

The Estate Whim Museum is a 12-acre complex that is the site of an old sugar plantation. The old Estate Whim Sugar Plantation was converted into a museum in order to educate locals and visitors about the history of sugar plantations on St. Croix and how they impacted everyday life when they were active. The interesting thing about Estate Whim is that it clearly shows what life was like back then for the people who lived and worked the plantation in the 18th century.

Following the hurricane season of 2017, some of the buildings are closed for re-construction. However, it’s still worth visiting the Estate Whim Museum, because most of the buildings are open to tourists. The Estate Whim Museum hours are from Wednesday through Saturday and on days when cruise ships dock into port in Frederiksted. Admission is reasonable and kids get a 50% discount off the price of adult tickets.

The Museum History

Estate Whim is the oldest sugar plantation on St. Croix and in the entire U.S.V.I., in fact. It’s the only sugar plantation museum in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Estate Whim is representative of the agricultural plantations that the Danish West Indian Company first designed in the 1730s. The estate was shown to be growing cotton in the first ownership documents from 1743. It appears that by 1754, sugar had taken over as the principal crop. This situation persisted until the 1920s, when sugar, an island-wide enterprise that had long since become unproductive, was replaced by cattle. Currently, the Landmark Society owns and operates the 12 acres comprising the Estate Whim Museum.

Here, you can walk and take your time and really absorb the atmosphere in relative quiet. It feels like everyone who visits appreciates the somber atmosphere that envelopes the place. While it was a booming sugar plantation and an integral part of the history of St. Croix, it also symbolizes the sacrifices that were made by the ancestors of the island citizens.

Getting To Estate Whim Museum & Sugar Mill

Google Maps directions are incorrect and will lead you into neighborhoods. Instead, go to the Kmart (only one on Island), then head towards Downtown Frederiksted. Along the 70, there will be a sign on the left side of the road with an arrow that says "Estate Whim Museum." Do not turn right away, there is a neighborhood at the turn immediately after the sign. Drive down a little further and you'll see an expansive driveway with an open lot and roundabout. It's mostly dirt and dry grass. There is where you park. (2nd photo for reference)

Self-Guided Museum Tours

Museum visitors can tour the cookhouse, the sugar mill and the slave quarters. The slave quarters are a somber place for obvious reasons. It was here that slaves were expected (forced) to reside every day when they weren’t out on the grounds working.

There’s a guided tour of the Estate Whim Museum that you shouldn’t miss. You aren’t obligated to take the tour. Once you pay your admission fee, you’re free to wander around and walk the grounds. But you’d be cheating yourself of the full experience. The guide will lead you into the Great House, and tell you about life back then in the 18th century. Whatever you think you know from watching movies or reading books, you’ll be blown away by the realities of existence back then. After this introduction to the Estate Whim Museum, then you can go along and have a self-guided tour.

On the Property

Wander around the massive Great House, and appreciate the huge windows and coral-colored walls. It’s all furnished and fitted out exactly as it was when Estate Whim was a fully operational sugar plantation. For those who aren’t claustrophobic, there’s a fascinating cellar or basement underneath Great House, which houses the carpentry workshop of Arthur Abel. Arthur Abel was a well-known St. Croix carpenter, and you’ll notice tons of his work on houses throughout Frederiksted. The Cookhouse is another must-see on the property. This is where all the food was made for the plantation owners and the workers. It wasn’t like Downton Abbey. The workers here didn’t get leftovers or anything gourmet But the Cookhouse does give you a sense of how kitchens in big houses worked back then.

If there’s one building you absolutely don’t want to miss, it’s the actual sugar mill, the only surviving one of its kind on St. Croix. You can see for yourself how the sugar cane was crushed beneath mammoth-sized stone rollers and then rolled down the sluice to be processed. Granted, it takes some imagination, but it’s still something you won’t see anywhere else.