Free Gut House 17B East Street 3D model

Free Gut, a historical neighborhood in Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, established around 1747 when the Danes set aside on the hillside of the town a section that was called Christiansted-Neger Gotted, later called Free Gut. It was residence to Free Blacks, a class of enslaved Africans who had bought their freedom with money earned as artisans or from selling produce from their garden in the Sunday market. They built their homes on this hillside and grew a thriving community of small merchants, fisherman, seaman, shoemakers, tailors, masons, coopers, carpenters, and blacksmiths. The Hillsiders, as they call themselves today, gather once a year and celebrate their being. This particular house was rebuilt on three sides with cinder blocks. Only one side shows signs of antiquity. However, it was built partially over a gut and remains that way today.. Every little space in Free Gut was used to build a home.