The Story of Maroon Sanctuary Park

When I first heard that St. Croix’s northwest coast would become home to the new Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park, I felt both awe and gratitude. Over 2,469 acres of protected land, including rugged cliffs, lush forest, and nearly two miles of coastline, are now forever safeguarded.

It’s a victory decades in the making, one that preserves the island’s largest intact forest, honors the Maroon people who once sought refuge here, and protects the natural beauty that defines our landscape.

The story of Maroon Sanctuary Park begins centuries ago, in the shadow of enslavement. During the 17th and 18th centuries, enslaved Africans escaped the sugar plantations and fled into the dense wilderness of St. Croix’s northwest corner, a region of steep cliffs, deep ravines, and hills rising more than 1,000 feet above the sea.

They built hidden communities among the forests of Maroon Ridge and along the coves of Annaly Bay, far from colonial reach. Here, they lived freely by growing food, hunting, and protecting one another from capture.

In 1767, a Danish missionary, Christian Oldendorp, described the settlement known as Maronberg:

“A large number of escaped slaves have established themselves on lofty Maroon Hill … protected by the impenetrable bush and by their own wariness.”

Those words still echo through these hills. The Maroons’ courage shaped more than a rebellion; it shaped an identity rooted in resilience, freedom, and unity.

The movement to preserve Maroon Ridge began decades ago, championed by environmentalist and University of the Virgin Islands professor Olasee Davis. His vision was simple but powerful: protect the land that protected our ancestors.

That dream became reality on August 15, 2025, when the Department of Planning & Natural Resources (DPNR), with the help of the Trust for Virgin Islands Lands, the Trust for Public Land, and community partners, officially secured and closed on the property.

The acquisition includes 2,469 acres of forest and coastline, 1.8 miles along St. Croix’s northwest edge and is now managed by DPNR’s Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas.

This milestone was funded in part through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), supporting conservation and workforce resilience.

“The people who made Maroon Country their sanctuary and stood for freedom and human dignity have names and identities,” says Davis. “They are part of the ancestral history of St. Croix and are connected to the people alive on St. Croix today.”

That quote stays with me as it is a reminder that this isn’t just a park; it’s sacred ground.

The northwest corner of St. Croix has always felt different. It feels... deeply spiritual. From the turquoise shallows of Ham’s Bay to the dramatic peaks of Maroon Ridge, the landscape feels alive with memory.

Between 1650 and 1767, this region was home to one of the Caribbean’s largest Maroon communities. Danish maps even labeled the area “Maronberg.” By 1791, census records show over 1,300 runaways among St. Croix’s 14,000 Africans, many believed to have sought refuge in these very hills, forming hidden networks that helped others escape or revolt.

These communities weren’t temporary shelters but societies built on cooperation and defiance. Maroons cultivated crops, traded covertly with plantation laborers, and sometimes launched raids for supplies. They created a way of life rooted in dignity and survival.

The Maroon Sanctuary Park now protects these same cliffs, forests, and caves, not only for their ecological value but for their profound cultural importance.

Researchers and archaeologists, including Dr. Justin Dunnavant, are using lidar technology and GIS mapping to locate remnants of the original Maroon settlements for traces of homes, trails, and artifacts hidden beneath centuries of vegetation.

Every discovery helps piece together the lives of those who turned hardship into heritage. The terrain itself tells their story, rugged, resilient, and resistant to control.

What makes this park so special is that it protects both biodiversity and history.

The forest here supports several rare and endangered species of plants and animals, along with pristine coral reefs and coastal ecosystems. It also includes popular sites like the Annaly Bay Tide Pools and Cane Bay reef, which will now benefit from stronger protections against runoff and development.

By preserving this wilderness, the park safeguards clean water, stable shorelines, and healthy reef systems, while giving us a living classroom to understand how nature and culture are forever intertwined.

Maroon Sanctuary Park is more than a conservation success story; it’s a celebration of identity. It honors those who resisted oppression and reminds us that freedom often begins quietly in places hidden from view, nurtured by community and courage.

Once open to the public, the park will provide educational trails, guided hikes, and interpretive exhibits to help future generations connect with this history. The St. Croix Hiking Association already leads hikes through Maroon Ridge and Ham’s Bay, offering opportunities to walk the same paths where freedom once took root.

Standing there, overlooking the sea, you can feel that connection, the blend of reverence and resilience that defines this place.

This milestone would not have been possible without the persistence of countless advocates, community leaders, conservationists, and local historians who believed that protecting this land was protecting identity itself.

Their work ensures that future generations will inherit not just beaches and forests, but the stories written into them.

It’s easy to think of history as something distant, but here, it lives beneath your feet. Every tree, every path, every shell in the sand carries a story that belongs to all of us.

When Maroon Sanctuary Park opens fully to the public, it will become the largest territorial park in the U.S. Virgin Islands, covering nearly 4% of St. Croix.

It will stand as a living tribute, a space for reflection, education, and renewal. A reminder that while the Maroons once fought to keep their existence hidden, today we celebrate it in the open, with gratitude and respect.

As I think about what this means for St. Croix, I’m filled with hope. Hope that this park will inspire new generations to learn, protect, and carry forward the stories that built our island’s soul.

Maroon Sanctuary Park represents so much more than land. It’s a story of freedom, strength, and belonging. I’d love to hear what this new sanctuary means to you. Have you visited the northwest trails or joined one of the Maroon Ridge hikes? If not, I'd be happy to take you.

You can always share your thoughts or reach out to me here to talk about what this historic achievement means for St. Croix’s future.