Denis Bay was once part of the Susanaberg Plantation, which was taken up by the Runnels family in the early eighteenth century. The plantation was primarily dedicated to the production of sugar. Sugar works and settlements were established on both the upper (Susanaberg) and lower (Denis Bay) portions of the estate which were connected by a road that descended the steep hillside by means of numerous switchbacks. This road is still in existence today.

Denis Bay became a prosperous plantation and a good portion of the lower valley was either planted in sugar cane or used as pasture land. A horsemill and, then later, a windmill, were constructed at the top of Peace Hill. A long conduit brought the cane juice down to a boiling room near the beach where there was also an estate house, a warehouse, a rum distillery and a slave village. These buildings have been partially restored and can be seen from the beach.

Sugar production at Denis Bay, and on St. John in general, began to decline in the mid nineteenth century. By 1880, sugar cane was no longer grown at Denis Bay, and the property was used for provision farming and the grazing of sheep and cattle.

Denis Bay Ruin

In 1877, Denis Bay was split off from Susanaberg and in 1905, it was sold to J.E. Lindqvist, who began the operation of a small boarding house, known as Lindqvist’s Place. At the time, there was only one other such establishment on St. John owned by Miss Myra Keating and located in Cruz Bay. Lindqvist also established a moderate-sized garden at Denis Bay. Agricultural records for that period show that 2,000 pineapples, 1,000 banana plants and 500 coconut palms as well as some cotton and cocoa were cultivated on the Denis Bay Estate. Lindqvist sold off The Hawksnest portion of Denis Bay to Philip Wilbur Rosenstand in 1920. The majority of the Denis Bay Estate then somehow ended up in the hands of the National Bank of the Danish West Indies who sold it in 1937 to a group of St. Thomas businessmen who operated a sport fishing club called the Deep Sea Fishing Club. The approximately 100-acre parcel sold for $1,250.

The Deep Sea Fishing Club was available to the general public with hotel services and conveniences for $22.00 per week with all meals included. The club was described by Desmond Holdbridge in his book Escape to the Tropics, written in 1937 as “a quaint institution, now non-existent, where no fishing was ever done.”

The Wadsworths
In 1939, Julius and Cleome Wadsworth purchased Denis Bay. Julius was a Foreign Service officer. Cleome was a professional fabric designer and worked in China and in Singapore, where she met Julius. They were married in 1932 and lived in Danszig, Prussia where Julius was serving as Consul. They came to St. John just before the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

The Wadsworths used Denis Bay as a vacation getaway. Their primary home since 1944 had been in Washington D.C.

Denis Bay Ruin

In 1948, Vogue Magazine commissioned artist Jay Gresham to sketch images of Denis Bay for a spread that Vogue published later that year. See PDF of the Vogue "Denis Bay" article.

Some illustrious St. Johnians have lived at Denis Bay either as renters or caretakers. St. Johnian, Thomas Thomas, served as one of the first caretakers and Robert and Nancy Gibney were among the first renters, having leased the property in 1947. The late Carl Frank, the founder of Holiday Homes was also a caretaker. He passed on the enviable job to Peter Griffith and family. One of the Griffith’s daughters, Melanie Griffith, who became a famous actress, spent much of her childhood at Denis Bay.

Denis Bay Estate is now the property of the Virgin Islands National Park, although certain “remainder interests”, which are the right to use a 1.1-acre parcel, containing the estate house, the warehouse and the old slave quarters will remain in private hands until 2035. In the 1990s, these “remainder interests” were sold to Ed Fine, son of the “Three Stooges” actor, Larry Fine. These rights have since been resold.

Peace Hill
In the 1950s, the Wadsworths donated a seven-acre tract of land to the Virgin Islands National Park including the area known as Peace Hill, where the old windmill still stands. The deed of gift to the Park asserts:

The grantors have for some years maintained Wadsworth’s Peace Hill as a place where the public is invited to enjoy great beauty and quiet. It is their wish that Wadsworth’s Peace Hill be perpetually dedicated as a place where people might meditate and find inner peace, in the hope that in some way this might contribute to world peace.

Christ of the Caribbean

In 1953, Col. Wadsworth commissioned two St. Johnians, Terrence Powell and Thomas Thomas, to construct the Christ of the Caribbean statue on the summit of Peace Hill, which for some time was a St. John landmark marveled at by the passengers and crews of vessels passing through the Durloe Channel.

In 1995, Hurricane Marilyn destroyed the Christ of the Caribbean which was, by this time, showing signs of decay. The National Park has decided not to rebuild the statue.

Cleome Wadsworth died on December 28, 1998 at the age of 102. Julius Wadsworth died in April of 1999. He was 96.