Healthcare, Life, and Death on St. Croix, USVI from the Late 19th Century to Early 21st Century

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2022 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 1888, the Danish government established a leper hospital on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, that was rebuilt in 1909, updated and expanded in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, and closed in 1954. In the 1960s, some buildings were removed, and others reused as part of the LBJ Gardens housing development that was occupied until around 2014. Archaeological, geophysical, and historical investigations in 2021 by the National Science Foundation funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates Exploring Globalization Through Archaeology site sought to find buildings and deposits relating to the leper hospital, identify interments in the Christiansted Cemetery, and understand how the Danish, United States, and island governments treated hospital residents. We found several New Deal era buildings, a 1909 foundation, and artifacts dating from the early 20th to early 21st century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• 2022 SHA Poster Submissions   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2022

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology