The "A Jewel Of A Town" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Going over the photos I took from my recent vacation and was comparing my photos of the town of Philipsburg with the photos that I found online that were taken years ago.  It was on November 11, 1493 that Christopher Columbus first sighted the island of Sint Maarten.  At the time the Arawak tribe had a settlement on the island and I'm not sure what Columbus did after seeing the Arawak settlement.  Eventually in 1763, a man by the name of John Phillips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch Navy, founded the town that bears his name.  The settlement known as Philipsburg soon became a bustling center of international trade.  Two forts were erected to help protect the town from invaders. Unfortunately the town was eventually captured by the Spanish, but later abandoned and returned to the Dutch.  Not sure how many jewelry stores popped up back when Mr. Phillips was on the island, but there are certainly are a slew of them now.  The main shopping district, Front Street is in the heart of the town.  

The town of Philipsburg with Great Bay on the right and
the Great Salt Pond on the left.  

The town has a port that is visited by the many cruise liners that deliver their passengers to the island to visit, explore and buy jewelry.  Philipsburg, the capital of Dutch Sint Maarten lies along a narrow stretch of land between Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond.  Lying directly behind Front Street is ….. well what else could it be but ….. Back Street.  Narrow alleyways with neat Dutch names lead from Front to Back street.  Front Street's most prominent landmark is the Courthouse, built in 1793.  A beautiful white wooden structure topped with a cupola.  The beautiful palm-tree lined passageway that runs from the courthouse to Great Bay bears witness to the beauty of the town.  One of my favorite sites along Front Street is the St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church which was built in 1841 and was later reconstructed in 1952.  I have written a story about the church and you can read it by clicking on the Sint Maaten/St. Martin link on the opening page of my blog.  Following are the photos I took recently with a comparison with the older photos that I found various places online.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The Courthouse in Philipsburg years ago.

Another view of the old courthouse taken from Great Bay.

The passageway from the water to the Courthouse.

Today's view of the Courthouse.

The pier where cruise ships visitors arrive.

Pier as it appeared years ago.

The Philipsburg waterfront or Boardwalk.

Waterfront as it appeared years ago.

Front street as it appears today.

Another view of Front Street.

Front Street as it appeared years ago.

And another view of Front Street from the past.

St. Martin of  Tours Catholic Church taken years ago.

As it appears today from Front Street.

A view of the church from the Boardwalk along Great Bay.