Catherineberg and Peace Hill

Catherineberg sits in the hills off Centerline Road and is the best preserved sugar works on St John: a stone windmill tower, a vaulted horse mill, and the arched works below, built in the eighteenth century and unusually well made, with dressed stone and brick arches. It served as a headquarters during the 1733 slave rebellion that took control of the island for several months. Peace Hill, on the north shore, is a short walk to a hilltop with the stub of another mill and one of the best views on the island, looking down over Hawksnest, Trunk and Cinnamon bays at once.

What you actually see

• The Catherineberg windmill - the best preserved sugar works on the island.
• The vaulted horse mill - dressed stone and brick arches.
• Peace Hill - a short walk to a hilltop mill stub and a three-bay view.
• The estate history - including its role in the 1733 rebellion.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. Mornings are cooler for the Peace Hill walk, which is short but exposed. Both are free and open at any hour. Late afternoon light on the north shore bays from Peace Hill is the best of the day.

Honest expectations

There is no interpretation on site at Catherineberg beyond a small sign, so the significance is easy to miss. Both sites are small and take under an hour combined. Parking at Catherineberg is a narrow pull-off on a steep road. The estates were worked by enslaved people and the ruins are presented with very little acknowledgement of that.

Nearby

Annaberg is on the north shore; Cinnamon and Trunk bays are below Peace Hill.