The "Plantation Mont Vernon" Story

It was an ordinary day. Heading towards Grand Case for supper at one of the many fine restaurants along the culinary strip that winds through the town. While driving along the road, Carol mentioned that we must stop some time at the Plantation Mont Vernon and visit. After a little more discussion, we decided to make a stop the following morning, before the sun got too hot. The La Plantation Mont Vernon is one of the few places that actually remind you of the rich history of the island of St. Martin. The plantation was established in 1786 for growing sugar, cotton, coffee, manioc (reminds you of a sweet potato), tobacco, corn and spices for Europe and was close to Orient Bay so it was easy to transport these products to the docks for shipping to Europe. The Plantation Mont Vernon is located on more than five acres of land and has a beautifully restored master's house called the "Maison de maitre" situated in the middle of tropical fruit trees. After paying for our tour we were given a small tape player that we used to give ourselves a self-guided tour of the grounds. We stopped at a small out-building where someone explained the roasting of coffee and then to another out-building where we were told about the making of rum. Free samples were given at this stop. We had just finished our breakfast, but the rum still had a great taste to it. Starting to feel more line a native islander all the time. The paths that were winding throughout the plantation had a variety of native plants growing and with our self-guided tape player, we were able to visualize what it must have been like in the 18th century living on this plantation. One of our favorite stops on the tour was the gift shop. Probably had more authentic island crafts than anywhere on the island. The Plantation was opened in 2005 for tourists, but last year on our annual trip to St. Martin, we noticed that it had closed. Hoping it is only temporary, since we did enjoy the travel through history. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photos from our trip through the Plantation Mont

Vernon. YouTube video shows a better view of the place.