Oranjestad, St. Eustatius: The Only Town on Statia
Two halves joined by a cobbled path — a cliff-top capital above a drowned eighteenth-century port.
Why Go
Oranjestad is the only town on St. Eustatius, and it is really two settlements stacked vertically. Upper Town sits on the cliff with the fort, the government, the museums and almost all the accommodation; Lower Town is the strip along the shore below, where in the eighteenth century the warehouses of the busiest free port on earth stood in an unbroken line. The Bay Path links them. Understanding that vertical split is the key to understanding the island, because everything that made Statia briefly one of the richest places in the Atlantic happened on the beach at the bottom.
The Experience
Upper Town is compact and quiet, laid out around Fort Oranje and a handful of streets of Dutch colonial buildings, some restored and some ruined, with the sea eight hundred feet below on one side and the bulk of the Quill closing the view on the other. It is a working capital of a few thousand people and there is no tourist quarter. Down the path, Lower Town is a narrow shelf between the cliff and the water with the remains of warehouse walls along it and a great deal more of the old port submerged just offshore. The contrast is stark: a functioning small town on top, and the archaeology of an enormous vanished economy underneath. Cruise ships do not come here and the island receives very few visitors. The scale of the reversal is what stays with visitors. In the 1770s several hundred ships might be anchored off this shore at once and the island handled more trade than New York; today the population is around three thousand and the anchorage is empty. Very few places show the rise and fall of a mercantile economy this plainly in a single view.
What to Try
Start at Fort Oranje, which is the centre of Upper Town and where the salute to the American flag was fired in 1776 — the act that got the island sacked by the British and is still commemorated. The St. Eustatius Historical Foundation Museum nearby explains the free-port years. Walk the Honen Dalim synagogue ruins, among the oldest Jewish congregations in the Americas, and the ruins of the Dutch Reformed church. Then take the Bay Path down and walk Lower Town among the warehouse walls. Eat at The Old Gin House down on the shore, Ocean View Terrace up top by the fort, or the Boardwalk Café, with Coffee On The Rock for the morning and Fay Bar and Restaurant and NatsKitchen for the local plate. High 5 Supermarket is the shop.
Insider Tip
Walk Lower Town knowing what you are looking at, or it will read as a scruffy shoreline. Those broken walls are the warehouses of a port that handled more trade than New York in the 1770s, the sea has taken most of the rest, and there is very little signage to tell you so. Go to the museum in Upper Town first, then walk down the Bay Path — half an hour of context turns a stretch of rubble into one of the more remarkable historical sites in the Caribbean.
The Practical Stuff
Oranjestad is a few minutes from F. D. Roosevelt Airport and effectively contains everything on the island — the accommodation, the restaurants, the shops and the government. Upper and Lower Town are joined by the Bay Path on foot and by a road for vehicles. Statia is a special municipality of the Netherlands and uses the US dollar; English is the everyday language and Dutch is official. Small aircraft from St Maarten are the only practical route in and are weather-dependent, so leave a night's margin before onward flights. Card acceptance is patchier than on larger islands, so carry cash. There is essentially no nightlife. The island is in the hurricane belt, roughly June to November.
Common Questions
What was St. Eustatius famous for?
Being the busiest free port in the world in the eighteenth century, trading more than New York at its peak. Its warehouses lined Lower Town, and the British sacked the island in 1781 for supplying the American revolution.
What is the First Salute?
In 1776 Fort Oranje returned the salute of an American vessel, the first foreign acknowledgement of the new republic. It is commemorated on the island and was among the reasons the British attacked.
What is there to see in Lower Town?
The remains of the eighteenth-century warehouse district, with more of it submerged just offshore. Visit the museum in Upper Town first, because there is little signage and the ruins need context.
How do you get to St. Eustatius?
By small aircraft from St Maarten, which is the only practical route. Flights are weather-dependent, so leave a night's margin before any onward international connection.
Is there much nightlife?
Essentially none. There is one small casino and a handful of bars, and the island receives very few visitors — which for the people who like Statia is the entire attraction.
What currency does Statia use?
The US dollar, despite being a special municipality of the Netherlands. Card acceptance is patchier than on larger islands, so carry cash.
Pair It With
- Honen Dalim Synagogue Ruins Guide — The oldest congregation, in Upper Town.
- The Old Gin House Guide — Lunch on the shore among the warehouse walls.
- Golden Rock Dive Center Guide — The port that is now underwater.
