The ruins of the historic stone masonry well tower as seen through the trees at Salt River Bay.
NPS photo
Every major period of human habitation in the Virgin Islands is represented: several South American Indian cultures including the Taino and Island Caribs, the 1493 encounter with Columbus, Spanish capture and removal of the island's Amerindian peoples, attempts at colonization by several European nations, and enslaved West Africans and their descendants. Since 1880, over a dozen major archeological investigations and much archival and historical research have revealed this area's remarkable story. Few places engage the imagination so completely, drawing visitors into the spirit of the place and its beauty and sanctity.
