Estate Rust Op Twist
In the arc of history, Estate Rust-Op-Twist mirrors the gradual decline of the once-prosperous sugar industry on St.
[2] Presently, Estate Rust-Op-Twist has its original steam engine and a sugar cane crusher, a windmill, and an animal-operated mill.
Other extant structures, including slave quarters and the plantation overseer's residence, have been restored to accommodate contemporary housing.
This district, one of the nine delineated during the Danish West India–Guinea Company's survey of St. Croix in the 1730s and 1740s, retained a predominantly unsettled character up until 1750.
In 1755, the Danish Government introduced a decree that estates left uncultivated solely for land investment purposes would be subject to confiscation.
A map from 1766 documented Uytendaal's connection to estates 5 and 6 in Northside Quarter B, suggesting that his foreman, presumably Larrens Bddkins, played an important role.
By 1793, this debt had increased to 203,142 florins, leading to a court proclamation that led the Uytendaals to surrender their estates and their 125 slaves to a trust.
It is possible that the 1769 Uytendaal loan was used for the construction of this windmill tower, which still stands today, located approximately 30 yards beyond and to the northeast of the animal mill.
Four years later, they expanded with an additional 100 acres dedicated to sugar cane, resulting in the largest estate land tax in their quarter, totaling 340 rigsdalers.
By 1805, Hans Winding became the sole owner and held the estate until his death in 1812, at which point his heirs inherited the property.
Following Count Moltke's ownership, the Royal West Indies Loan Commission once again acquired Rust-op-Twist for Ps 74,000, marking the end of an era for the estate in the face of changing times and economic challenges.
After six years under the Royal West Indies Loan Commission's control, Rust-op-Twist appeared on the auction block in 1850.
The sale included a complete set of sugar works with an inventory, a sufficient stock of resources, and access to ample natural water sources.
The engine's key features included a cast-iron, non-counterweighted crank arm, a 2-ball Watt-type governor with slotted arc guides and restraints, a D slide valve, and a "pump rod of apparent blacksmith origin."
Its flywheel, composed of wrought-iron spokes and a cast-iron hub and rim, measured 10 feet in diameter with a 4+1⁄2-inch face.
Stone archways in the ruins next to the west wall of the present-day warehouse likely served the sugar-works room containing coppers and clarifiers.
The St. Croix sugar industry faced numerous challenges, including hurricanes, earthquakes, prolonged droughts, epidemics, and economic hardships.
Factors like the costly transportation of produce and falling prices made it nearly impossible to sustain profitable cultivation.
In June 1879, a notice announced that Rust-op-Twist would be put up for auction at the request of Christiansted's Dealing Court, as they managed Mr. Julius Arendrup's bankruptcy.
As of 1977, the St. Croix Landmarks Society had hopes of purchasing the remaining steam mill and restoring it to working condition.
