[3] Archaeological evidence shows that the first inhabitants of the Virgin Islands were Ortoiroid people, who began their migration into the Antilles from the Orinoco River basin in South America about 2000 BC.

[5] Starting in the 1680s, prior to any formal colonization, the land along the shoreline of the north central coast of Saint John was occupied for decades by settlers of diverse nationalities.

[2] Daniel Jansen and his wife Adriana Delicat were the first land owners to acquire a formal Danish deed for property at Cinnamon Bay.

In 1719, Pieter de Buyck purchased property along the north central coast of the island, east of the Gandy-Durloo land.

These three parcels of land – the Jansen, Gandy-Durloo, and De Buyck-Beaudewyn properties – became the consolidated estate later known as Cinnamon Bay Plantation.

In 1955, Cinnamon Bay was sold to Jackson Hole Preserve, Incorporated and in 1956 donated to Virgin Islands National Park.