Annaberg Sugar Plantation near Leinster Bay in St. John, Virgin Islands — The Caribbean (The West Indies)
Bake Oven
Photographed by Michael Fischer, January 9, 2026
1. Bake Oven Marker
This bread oven trapped heat from charcoal in the chamber to bake bread slowly in the oven. Enslaved people and their emancipated descendants burned hard wood in a pit elsewhere to create charcoal as a more even heat source for this oven and for coal pots, which were commonly used for cooking. They swept the spent embers into an ash box that emptied on the other side of the building.
Enslaved people built ovens like this on plantations across the island. Bread from these ovens sometimes provided a meager meal for enslaved laborers. More often, enslaved people provided for themselves. They maintained small gardens and gathered fruits and shellfish to supplement their meals. Independent food production led to bartering within the enslaved community, which created complex social networks.
When enslaved laborers prepared their own meals, they kept their culture alive through traditional dishes from their homelandsfine-tuning the recipes that their ancestors had passed down.
Despite facing exceptional hardships, knowledgeable and skilled women were regarded as "Queens" of their village networks. These Queens provided
this page online
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers • Women.
Location. 18° 21.773′ N, 64° 43.776′ W. Marker is near Leinster Bay in St. John, Virgin Islands. It is in Annaberg Sugar Plantation. It can be reached from Leinster Bay Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: St John VI 00830, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is one of the Lesser Antilles on the Caribbean Sea, on in the Atlantic Ocean, in North America, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Producing Sugar (a few steps from this marker); Crushing Cane with Wind (a few steps from this marker); The Sugar Factory (a few steps from this marker); Life After Emancipation (a few steps
Photographed by Michael Fischer, January 9, 2026
2. Bake Oven and Marker
More about this marker. Annaberg Sugar Plantation is a unit of Virgin Islands National Park.
Also see . . . Annaberg Sugar Plantation. (Submitted on January 17, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 42 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 17, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
