'A Place Where Imagination Runs Free': Florence Augusta Stevens Williams Library Set For April 9th Reopening

A key component of community life in Christiansted has been restored and is almost ready to once again foster curiosity and learning among residents of St. Croix.

Government officials gathered at the Florence Augusta Stevens Williams Library on Wednesday afternoon for a grand reopening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility, which has now been restored after the 2017 twin hurricanes forced its closure.

Dating back to December of 1920, the library was named after the first native-born Crucian librarian. Ms. Williams, a multi-lingual, college educated woman, was celebrated both at home and abroad for her breadth of knowledge of Caribbean and Latin American history. The library served as a hub for St. Croix intellectual life, hosting poetry readings, debates, news conferences, and constitutional conventions, among other events.

Battered by the storms which periodically ravage the island, the library was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and again by Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. After being rebuilt for the second time, Irma and Maria in 2017 destroyed the facility again, necessitating this latest restoration effort.