Historic Schoolhouses Project:
The Coral Bay Community Council (CBCC) has undertaken a project with two goals: (1)
accomplish the necessary work to register two historic schoolhouses in the East End and Coral
Bay area of St. John in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and the Virgin Islands
Registry of Historic Buildings, Sites and Places (VIRHBSP), and (2) encourage public interest in
preservation and knowledge of cultural and historic properties in the Coral Bay area.
The impetus for this project is to provide recognition and protection for two important historical
and cultural places on St. John – schoolhouses that were attended by parents and grandparents and
other elders in recent memory. The project will document this local history so it remains
accessible for future generations, and is intended to involve local culture bearers so they can
learn key research techniques to conduct this type of work in the future, building local capacity.
This project will also further the community’s vision to grow cultural heritage tourism in Coral
Bay and East End, St. John. CBCC, residents, other organizations and government agencies are interested in undertaking collaborative future
projects to conduct restoration activities at these schoolhouses, which would make it possible for
these sites to serve as small historical museums and a tourist welcome center at the Coral Bay
School location. This would help underpin our tourism economy in a way that promotes exploration of
cultural and historical appreciation as activities during a vacation, and help small
entrepreneurial historic guides, food vendors and cultural teachers to flourish. This kind of
activity of experiential tourism was identified as appropriate for Coral Bay in the American
Institute of Architect’s 2013 Communities by Design process and report. AIA Community Vision – Coral Bay Community Council
The History of the East End Schoolhouse
The Original Schoolhouse at Guy Benjamin School
If anyone wants to add more information to this compilation of information or would like access to more of this research, please get in touch.
The project was supported by a grant was received from the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI), with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these materials do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This Web resource has been made possible in part by the NationalEndowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom