Under Danish rule around 1750, sugarcane was first planted on this site. For the next 200 years, it was a plant– sugarcane, which dominated all the activity on Estate St. George. A series of European businessmen owned the property, including prominent, local business men such as John Heyliger and Peter Oxholm.
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During the early part of the 20th Century, as the profits from sugar production declined, cattle replaced sugar cane on Estate St. George.
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By the early 1970's, much of the land fell into disuse, and dense tropical vegetation began to reclaim much of the property and buildings. In 1972, the first parcel of land that was to become the 16.5 acres of the present day Botanical Garden was donated to the St. Croix Garden Club in order to establish the St. George Village Botanical Garden.
History of Estate St. George
The Village Manager's House, built around 1820.
The present day St. George Village Botanical Garden overlaps a 23 acre Amerindian site that was settled around 100 A.D. These early settlers made their way up the island chain from the Saladero site in the basin of the Orinoco River in present-day Venezuela. These Saladoid peoples were skilled horticulturists who had already been cultivating cassava for centuries. The Saladoid culture and later groups carried many crops (such as peanuts, hot peppers, sweet potatoes, and pineapples) with them from South America through the island chain. Very likely, these Amerindians selected the St. George site because the fresh water stream that is now Mint Gut would have given them access to the south shore via canoe. The Saladoid inhabitants occupied this site until about 1,000 A.D. when they apparently dispersed to other island locations.