Jost van Dyke Gets First Museum
Ground was broken on Buffalo Hill for the Roy Caldwood Buffalo Soldier Heritage Museum, the first museum on Jost van Dyke. The project, led by centenarian Roy J. Caldwood and partners including JVDAT and the Miss World BVI Committee, will celebrate local history, notable figures and boost cultural tourism.
Groundbreaking was held on Buffalo Hill this week for the Roy Caldwood Buffalo Soldier Heritage Museum, marking what Second District Representative Hon Melvin M. Turnbull called a defining milestone for Jost van Dyke. Caldwood — described at 103 years old as full of energy — and launched a project intended to preserve and showcase the island’s history and achievements.
Representative Turnbull praised Caldwood’s generosity and lifelong commitment to his birthplace, saying a portion of the museum will highlight Caldwood’s own extraordinary journey while also displaying the wider resilience and accomplishments of the Jost van Dyke community. ‘‘Roy loves Jost van Dyke, and I am pleased to be the Representative of this District to celebrate a man who is 103 but acts like he is 46.
I commend Roy and his family for this initiative,’’ he said. Community leaders emphasised the project’s wider significance. Shelley Chinnery-Antoine of the Jost van Dyke Advancement Team (JVDAT) called the museum the fulfilment of a long-held dream and noted Caldwood’s role in founding JVDAT.
The Miss World BVI Committee, a project partner, highlighted the museum’s potential to strengthen cultural pride and inspire Virgin Islanders. Family members who attended recalled visiting the Buffalo Hill property as children. Grandsons Terrence and Christopher Royer said seeing the site prepared for development and the unveiling of the museum sign was profoundly meaningful.
Their sister Racquel Royer expressed confidence the museum will bring recognition to the outstanding achievements of Jost van Dyke descendants, past and present. Caldwood addressed the crowd: ‘‘I thank you all. I never thought I would see this day.’’ Diane Royer, Caldwood’s daughter, outlined plans for the museum’s design and governance.
Three architects will collaborate to create a historic, quaint and culturally resonant structure, and organisers are forming the Roy Caldwood Buffalo Soldier Heritage Museum Foundation to manage donations and oversee development. The foundation will work with experienced curators, including Dr Angel Smith, and international partners affiliated with the National World War II Museum in New Orleans to shape exhibits, replicas and educational programming once the project budget is finalised.
Exhibits will honour other notable island figures such as Private Samuel Hodge VC of the 4th West India Regiment, the first Black soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the 1866 capture of Tubabacollon on the Gambia River. When completed, organisers say the museum will serve as a cultural landmark, educational resource and a boost to Jost van Dyke’s tourism offering while ensuring the island’s heritage is preserved for future generations.
Primary source: VINO