Last updated: December 12, 2023
Place
Fort Christiansvaern Officer's Day Room
NPS Photo: Kahle
Quick Facts
Location:
Fort Christiansvaern
Significance:
This room is in stark contrast to the barracks used by average soldiers and showcases the disparity of the haves and have nots.
The Officers Day room was a premium and beautiful location of both paperwork and relaxation for the officers. It stands today with the original furniture from Danish rule. The quality of life for the officers, in comparison with the soldiers and then the prisoners is something to be noticed. Picture in your mind what you might have done in this room. Scribbling away on paperwork, writing letters back home to your siblings and parents, playing a game of checkers with one of the younger soldiers who missed his family, or maybe giving corrections to a soldier who had disobeyed orders.
The rooms to the side of this room served many purposes. Bedrooms, detention cells, storage facility, kitchen, commandant's storage room, police office, barracks and examination room.
Today the closed rooms are now used as the Parks research library and archival office. Once again, a perfect demonstration of change throughout the centuries.
This Fort served many purposes. It was a place of both justice and injustice. Nevertheless, the preservation and protection of it is vital, if we hope to preserve the history of the people who were impacted, whether negatively or positively, by its presence.
As you continue to explore the fort and the other areas of Christiansted National Historic Site, look for cluse to St. Croix’s role as the Crossroads of the Caribbean. Here cultures from four continents met, clashed and evolved into the vibrant culture that exists today on “the big island.”
The rooms to the side of this room served many purposes. Bedrooms, detention cells, storage facility, kitchen, commandant's storage room, police office, barracks and examination room.
Today the closed rooms are now used as the Parks research library and archival office. Once again, a perfect demonstration of change throughout the centuries.
This Fort served many purposes. It was a place of both justice and injustice. Nevertheless, the preservation and protection of it is vital, if we hope to preserve the history of the people who were impacted, whether negatively or positively, by its presence.
As you continue to explore the fort and the other areas of Christiansted National Historic Site, look for cluse to St. Croix’s role as the Crossroads of the Caribbean. Here cultures from four continents met, clashed and evolved into the vibrant culture that exists today on “the big island.”