
Buck Island Reef National Monument
History
HISTORY & CULTURE
Buck Island Reef National Monument was established by Presidential proclamation in 1961, and expanded in 2001, in order to preserve "one of the finest marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea." The park is now one of only a few fully marine protected areas in the National Park System. The 176-acre island and surrounding coral reef ecosystem support a large variety of native flora and fauna, including several endangered and threatened species such as hawksbill turtles and brown pelicans. The elkhorn coral barrier reef that surrounds two-thirds of the island has extraordinary coral formations, deep grottoes, abundant reef fishes, sea fans and gorgonians. Although mainly known for its coral reef and nesting sites for turtles and birds, Buck Island has a rich cultural history as well.
Places
How
The first maps of
In 1750, the first map of
In the 1700s, maps and illustrations were printed from engraved copper plates. Everything was engraved in reverse (like a negative) so that it would print positive on the paper. One can see how mistakes could occasionally happen. The change from Pocken-Eyland to Bockeneyland simply involved changing the âPâ to a âB.â
By the time of Kueffnerâs map (1767), Pocken-Eyland had either been leased to or purchased by a Dane with the last name of Diedrich, who was the Town Clerk (recorder of deeds) at

People
The first people to set foot on buck Island were probably Saladoid, Ostionoid, and/or Taino peoples who used the island as a temporary camp while fishing, hunting manatees and sea turtles, and gathering eggs and conch. These people left behind pottery most attributable to the early Ostioniod styles ca. A.D. 600 and later. They also left behind large quantities of conch shells with holes punched in their apexes â evidence of meat extraction. It has been hypothesized that the home village for these peoples may have been Coakley Bay. Due to a lack of fresh water in Buck Island, it is unlikely that permanent settlements were maintained there.
The first European known to be associated with Buck Island was
In 1789, the Danish government constructed a signal station on Buck Island, on the 329-foot elevation Point. The signal keeper and his family would have lived nearby, along with their slaves.
In 1822, Buck Island became the official passion of the Danish Crown through the practice of landskassen (land treasury), or, the appropriation of rural lands by the government for their protection. These lands were then leased to various individuals for appropriate uses, as so determined by the Danish government.
Census data throughout the nineteenth century note that small groups of people we riving on Buck Island. For example, in 1841, six people were living on the island; two fishermen, a housekeeper, and âthree professional drunks.â
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Comments
There's a problem in this story:
The 1764 IM Beck map can be found in the Library of Congress website (search for St Croix maps). Beck's map clearly labels Buck Island as "Bochen" eyland and not "Pochen". Pochen in German is "pox", as in smallpox. On the other hand, "Pockholz" in German is Lignum Vitae, a dense wood prized by shipbuilders for things like block and tackle. But it is a long and dubious way to get from Bochen to Pockholz. In linguistic terms, this would be called a "folk etymology."
To complicate things, the 1767 map label "Bochen" appears to be a variant spelling. "Bocken" with a 'k' in German/Dutch does translates as: BUCK, refuse, play, or jib.
So Bochen = Bocken = Buck.
Some have suggested "buck" as in "male goats". But I find it highly unlikely that a small island with ZERO fresh water could support a goat herd, much less become known as a goat island, especially as early at the 1700 when there was so much better grazing land onshore right across from Buck Island. Indeed, there's still a goat farm directly across from the island, and the hills east of there are called The Goat Hills. Thus, why anyone would raise goats on that dry island is unfathomable.
Therefore, the better guess is Bocken/Buck as in "refuse" (as in "I refuse") or "play" island? Indeed, people play on Buck Island every weekend.
One captain I know suggested it was where sailors were put off if they refused to obey. So that possibility is still alive as well.
To further muddy the water, the Arawak people of the Caribbean and St Croix used the word "buccan" for their meat smoking racks, which many assume is the etymology for the french word "boucanier" ...from which is derived "Buccaneer" or "pirate." One old Danish map on display in Ft. Christian in Christiansted St Croix labels Buck Island as "Buckeney" island. Buckeney = Buccaneer? The mystery deepens.