By 1825, cotton production decreased to 17,000 pounds, while the population increased to 506 (34 whites, 76 free persons of colour and 397 slaves).

By 1853, Dookhan (1975) attributes a population of 1,235 residents on Jost Van Dyke, 196 of whom died of a cholera outbreak in that same year.

Charcoal-making was a practice that began during the plantation era when strong fires were vital for sugar and rum production, and charcoal making emerged as a primary industry for the BVI during the Post-Emancipation years.

Penn-Moll, Verna, Coals of Fire: The Development of the Caribbean Fireplace Technology with Traditional Customs, Myths and Sayings.)

According to island residents, on JVD, people would work collectively to build charcoal pits, a practice that occasionally continues to this day.

Maritime resources were also extremely important historically to the people of Jost Van Dyke, and the island has emerged as a fishing village.

Small, locally constructed sailing vessels the "Tortola Boat" flourished in the BVI until about the 1960s when they were replaced with motorized craft.

Jost Van Dyke, like the rest of the British Virgin Islands, suffered catastrophic damage from Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm which struck the territory in September 2017.

[5] Jost Van Dyke's primary school, health clinic, and two petrol stations were damaged, while most of the island's homes were destroyed.

[5] With little aid from the British or territorial governments during the week following the storm, Jost Van Dyke's 298 residents set up a recovery and command center Foxy’s Tamarind Bar and Restaurant.

[5] Food from other restaurants and residences were brought to Foxy's, which housed the island's only major, surviving refrigerator and generators before others were repaired by the Royal Marines later that month.

Today, White Bay is lined with beach bars and is a very popular stop for yachts and boaters from Tortola, St. Thomas and St. John.

The country music video for Kenny Chesney's 2002 recording "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" was filmed on and around Jost Van Dyke.