Lawaetz Family Museum
Sitting serenely on the edge of the rainforest, and
located in a majestic setting, this old Danish West Indian
plantation house and its fabulous gardens have been home to a
prominent Danish family for over a century. Just recently, the house
and grounds have been opened to the public with excellent tours. The
estate is encompassed by lush green gardens and natural agricultural
fields, and the majority of it is now part of a museum, with the
interior filled with the traditional decor of the early 20th
century, and in the same condition as it was when first occupied the
descendants ancestors, with the family still running the plantation
and keeping it in the pristine condition you'll find it. The Lawaetz
family is one of the island's most interesting and intriguing,
coming from Danish-Crucian descent, the family is more than happy to
tell of their family's history along with this gorgeous island's. As
you enter the estate, you'll cross a bridge over the family's former
swimming hole, where Kai Lawaetz once swam with his brothers and
sisters and their friends. It had been the source of fresh sparkling
spring water that led into a creek that runs through the estate, and
then onto the standing ruins of a wind powered sugar mill. Another
mill is located nearby for animals, with landscaping of beautiful
flowers, plants and trees. It all sits on 19 acres of land, with
flora ranging from violets to hibiscus hybrids that Kai has created.
Kai's father, Carl, bought the estate in 1896, when it was known as
the Estate Little La Grange, and began raising crops and cattle on
four hundred acres. When Carl bought the estate, it was entirely
empty except for a mahogany bureau that had an Indian holding a bow
and arrow carved in the wood that dated back to the early 1800s.
Just three years later, the estate and many parts of the island
would be devastated by a hurricane, with some results still seen on
the landscape. In those ruins, visitors can still see photographs,
heirlooms and relics.
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