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As of the 2020 census, the population of St. Thomas is 42,261, about 48.5% of the total population of the United States Virgin Islands.
Some four-fifths of the inhabitants are of African origin, though many also have Spanish, Portuguese, Scottish, Danish, English, French, and Puerto Rican ancestry. English is the main language, though there are French- and Spanish-speaking pockets. The median age in the United States Virgin Islands is 39.8 years.
The capital and largest city in St. Thomas is Charlotte Amalie, which is situated halfway along the southern coast on hill slopes. Its well-sheltered harbor is in the crater of an extinct volcano. Its Danish colonial architecture includes Blackbeard’s Castle, a 1600s watchtower. The 99 Steps ascend to the tower, which has panoramic views. The 17th-century Fort Christian is now a museum with art and artifacts. East of town, the Skyride aerial tram climbs to Paradise Point. It is a popular shopping center, home to 20,000 people, upscale shops, ecotours and underwater safaris.
Aliyah Boston (born 2001), WNBA Player, Indiana Fever
Janelle James (born 1974), television actress
Nic Claxton (born 1999), NBA Player, Brooklyn Nets Kelsey Grammer (born 1955), actor.
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), artist, French Impressionist painter
Callix Crabbe (born 1983), Major League Baseball Player (San Diego Padres)
Emile Griffith (1938-2013), professional boxing champion
Hannah Jeter (born 1990), Sports Illustrated
Swimsuit Issue model; born and raised on St. Thomas
St. Thomas is home to Fort Christian, built in 1680, and the second-oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, as well as Danish-French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro’s childhood home. The island is also known for scuba diving, golf courses, picture-perfect beaches and spectacular nightlife.
St. Thomas is home to Fort Christian, built in 1680, and the second-oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere, as well as Danish-French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro’s childhood home. The island is also known for scuba diving, golf courses, picture-perfect beaches and spectacular nightlife.
Phantasea Tropical Botanical Garden: St. Thomas's newest botanical garden and eco-attraction feauring over 1000 orchids in a tropical botanical setting.
Hassel Island: The Hassel Island Historic District is located on Hassel Island south of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Much of the island is part of Virgin Islands National Park, and are open 24 hours a day year-round.
Sighted in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, St. Thomas was later colonized, first by the Dutch (1657) and then by the Danish (1666). In 1672 it passed into the hands of the newly chartered Danish West India Company and subsequently, in 1685, of the mainly Dutch Brandenburg Company. After 1673, when slavery was introduced, the island became one of the chief sugar producers of the Caribbean and was extremely prosperous. In 1754 St. Thomas was acquired by the king of Denmark, and Charlotte Amalie was declared a free port open to international shipping.
Its neutrality during the Napoleonic Wars made it a center of the distributing trade and the largest slaving port in the Western Hemisphere.
Again in 1807-15 the British held St. Thomas, but it was afterward restored to Denmark. Falling sugar prices after 1820, together with the abolition of slavery in 1848, led to a decrease in sugarcane profits and a falloff of trade until the colony was operated at a loss. Though a possible cession had been suggest- ed as early as 1867, the United States bought St. Thomas and two other islands of the Danish West Indies as a naval base for $25 million in 1917.
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