One of the first roads in the Virgin Islands stretched from the Chalwell junction to Windy Hill, and it was called the “paved walk” because it was composed of stones laid flat side up, according to historian Angel Smith.
Today, however, the original road is no more: In the 1980s, it was bulldozed and realigned so it could be used by vehicles, Mr. Smith said.
The historian, who now heads the Department of Archives and Records Management, included such tidbits in a new tourism manual that was commissioned by the BVI Tourist Board and Film Commission and launched last Thursday at Maria’s by the Sea.
Though the manual itself won’t be available until the end of this month, its cover was unveiled at the ceremony.
Also launched was a related video that will be used to train transportation professionals in local knowledge and storytelling skills.
“As Virgin Islanders, we need to know our community,” Mr. Smith said. “We need to know our islands: not just the history — we need to know nature. We need to know everything about these islands if we are to share this information with others, because when they listen to us, they expect that we speak from a knowledge base.”
Past stories
During the event, Mr. Smith also shared more VI history, including an anecdote about the creation of Joes Hill Road.
“It was an old bridle path, as they said, and it was felt that this road could be made motorable. The then-administrator said no, he don’t think so,” Mr. Smith said, adding, “Now, like all Virgin Islanders, we look at something, we scratch our heads, and we conclude that could happen — no engineers, no engineering experience. All you have are some men who say, ‘Listen, if [a] donkey could climb it, [a] car can ride it.’”
Mr. Smith said residents waited for the administrator to leave the territory on holiday and then built the road in his absence. When he returned, the road was nearly complete, according to the historian.
In addition to his work on the manual, Mr. Smith will also train transportation stakeholders on how to use it and how to tell stories based on historical knowledge, according to the BVITBFC.