Historic Charlestown: 2020 Vision
A Strong Case For Inscription As A UNESCO World Heritage Site
St. Kitts and Nevis, a twin-island nation in the western arc of the Caribbean chain of islands, is steeped in history. In 1998, twelve years after the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis ratified the World Heritage Convention, the universal value of historic Charlestown, capital of Nevis, was recognized and the town was approved by UNESCO for inclusion on its tentative list of prospective World Heritage Sites.
Nestled between the pristine blue waters of the Caribbean Sea and the lush green of the island’s dormant volcano Nevis Peak, Charlestown was one of the earliest British capitals in the Caribbean.
Founded in the early 17th century, Charlestown became the seat of government for the British Leeward Islands and was known as a major sugar producer, a center of the inter-island slave trade, a refuge for Sephardic Jews fleeing persecution and, later, the birthplace of US founding father Alexander Hamilton. The histories of nation states and peoples of the greater Caribbean region, Europe, Africa and the American continent are thus intertwined with that of the island and its historic capital. The influence of those intersections remains evident in the physical and cultural landscape today.
Built substantially by the descendants of enslaved Africans, Charlestown is a well-preserved monument to Georgian and vernacular architecture from the early 19th century and street patterns dating to the 17th century.
Military, commercial, institutional, religious, and domestic structures stretch from Fort Charles in the south to the cholera cemetery to the north. Historic Anglican, Judaic, Huguenot and Methodist sites ring the town reflecting the island’s religious diversity.
Among the proposed cultural assets for preservation and for inscription of Charlestown as a UNESCO World Heritage site are the Bath Hotel and Bath House, Hamilton House, Slave Market, Jewish Cemetery, Charlestown Methodist Church, Fort Charles, and the Cholera Cemetery.
The Bath Hotel and Bath House
The Bath Hotel and Bath House was built around 1778 and is considered to be the oldest hotel in the Caribbean. During the late 15th century, voyagers to the New World benefited from the reputed curative powers of the mineral waters of the Bath Springs that continue to be used today, and are reputed to provide relief from aching bones, rheumatism, gout and other ailments. This famous spring was used by the indigenous inhabitants before the arrival of Europeans and was mentioned in the memoirs of Captain John Smith when he stopped in Nevis in 1607 on his way to Jamestown, Virginia, USA, to establish the first permanent English Settlement in North America. In the mid-19th century, a nine-hole golf course was built on the grounds, becoming the first in the Caribbean and one of the first in the Western Hemisphere. The hotel operated for nearly a century, closed and then reopened in World War I to house troops of the British West India Regiment. The building also housed troops during World War II. The imposing stone structure, which remains in active use, represents the earliest and most lasting example of a tourist-centered economic enterprise in a region that is today largely dependent on tourism for its income.
The Historic Bath Hotel
Hamilton House
Hamilton House was the childhood home of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the US Treasury and the architect of the American financial system. The building is a fine example of a solidly constructed, well preserved 18th century residence with elements of the two-story original structure intact. The building houses a museum that captures local history as well as the world-defining economic, military and political influence of Alexander Hamilton, famous son of Nevis and founding father of the United States. Fittingly, the home is now the seat of Parliament for the Nevis Island Administration.
Hamilton's Birthplace and Museum