Establishment of Virgin Islands National Park

The Virgin Islands government proposed a territorial park for the Reef Bay region of St. John as early as 1937, prompting feasibility studies by the U.S. Department of the Interior to determine whether the island’s resources warranted inclusion in the National Park system. After World War II, both a National Recreation Area and a National Park were considered. Although Laurance Rockefeller provided the funding to purchase the land that would eventually become a park, landowner and real estate developer Frank Stick revived federal and territorial interest in establishing a national park unit on St. John. St. John Senator Julius Sprauve, Sr. introduced local legislation for the establishment of Virgin Islands National Park and also played an integral role in territorial requests to the Department of the Interior for improved roads and trails to support the proposed “winter resident trade.” Homesteading provisions for St. Johnians were sought to help ensure a reliable food source for residents and anticipated visitors. In the mid-1950’s, as tourism and development gradually grew in the Caribbean, many St. John landowners either donated or sold land to Laurance Rockefeller in order to preserve the island’s natural beauty. Today, Virgin Islands National Park consists of about half of the island of St. John.