The "The House Known Only As 'The Vineyard'" Story

Preface:  Looking over a few of my former stories that displayed a photograph of a building to the East of the town of Philipsburg, Sint Maarten known as "The Vineyard".  I had taken photographs of the house quite a few times while on vacation in Sint Maarten.  Beautiful home with a large star on the west side of the house, facing toward the town of Philipsburg.  I recently read an online story written by Will Johnson who was born on the island of Saba.  He has written many stories about St. Martin/Sint Maarten and what follows are memories from Mr. Johnson that will help you understand better what I have written in the past.  Thank you Mr. Johnson for the great information you presented for my story today.  

 It was an ordinary day.  Looking at a beautiful home known as "The Vineyard."  In what appears to be the front of the home was a large staircase leading to the second floor of the building on the West side of the home.  While sitting on the second floor balcony or veranda, you would have a fantastic view looking West down Front Street in Philipsburg.

Cattle roam on the grounds of "The Vineyard."

Off in the distance was Fort Amsterdam, the triangular colonial stone fort that was built by the Dutch in 1631 as a defense for their colonial outpost and seaport of Sint Maarten.  The Fort was located near Great Bay and Little Bay.  To the rear of "The Vineyard" were hills that held a variety of living creatures in the darkness of the hills and if you followed the upward line of the hills you could view Sentry Hill, Mont des Acords and Flagstaff Hill.  

Looking from hills behind "The Vineyard" towards Great Bay harbor.

I read a rather humorous story told by a Mr. Fons O'Connor about the introduction of the flush toilet inside the house.  Seems that back then the outhouse was located a good distance from the home where you ate and slept.  It was sanitized from time to time with coal dust to keep down the odor.  But, when Mr. L.A. van Romondt, the original property owner, built the house he had a flush toilet installed inside the house.  A big deal for that time in history.  A neighbor commented that "Who would have thought that Mr. van Romondt was a man like that.  Doing his business inside the house, where he has to cook and sleep?" In those days it was customary for those not having an outhouse to carry the "night soil" to the beach and throw it into the sea, since it was believed that the sea cleansed itself every 24 hours.  "The Vineyard," both property and building situated at the head of the town, demanded respect. It is possible that the home got its name from the fact that the home was at one time surrounded by grapes.  The Caribbean Sea grape is a salty plant with small grapes which are inedible.  The property extended to the top of the hill behind it while the front lay at the feet of old Philipsburg with the Great Salt Pond closeby.  Their closest neighbors were the Huith family which lived up the dirt road that led to Point Blanche.  "The Vineyard" was imported from Baltimore, Maryland between 1871 and 1873.  It supposedly was a pre-fab home modeled after a home on Martha's Vineyard, thus it's name.  It was of wooden frame construction.  Eventually "The Vineyard" changed hands with Mayor Louis Constant Fleming buying the home from Mr. van Romondt's family as they either left the island or died while on the island.  The van Romondt family owned much of the island at one time and populated much of it also.  

Another photograph looking from behind "The Vineyard" looking toward the Great Salt Pond.

Then in 1938 Ms. J.C. Buncamper bought "The Vineyard."  To enter "The Vineyard" you enter off the East end of Philipsburg on a drive that leads to the front staircase leading up to the house.  There is an outside staircase leading towards the façade.  

Another look of "The Vineyard" looking East.

The layout of the home is complicated with small apartments, an inside staircase and passage.  What makes it stand out is that it is isolated on the end of town with most all other houses on Front or Back Streets.  It is considered more a Country House than a Towne House.  Carolyn Buncamper  owns the home at present.  She lives there with her family.  Every visit Carol and I make to the island of St. Martin/Sint Maarten is not complete unless I take the latest photo of "The Vineyard."  I understand that it was recently refurbished, so I will certainly need one more photograph to go with my other photos.  Fantastic home with a remarkable history to it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Epilogue:  I recently received a bit of help for this story from a resident of Sint Maarten; Barbara Cannegieter.  Her husband, Dee was a distant relative of Mr. van Romondt.  When Barbara first married and moved to Sint Maarten from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, she found out that the van Romondt family was a very interesting and influential Dutch family who owned much of the island at one time.  She told me that she kept meeting people who said they were cousins of Dee's.  When she mentioned it to Dee he would say, "Oh, yea, I think they are a van Romondt cousin."