The
Taino inhabited St. John's north shore in the period around 1100 CE. They established one of several villages on what is now known as Hawksnest Point, between Hawksnest and
Caneel Bay. Early European settlers named this part of Hawksnest Bay "Fortuna Bay", a name that appears on Peter Lotharios Oxholm's manuscript map, drawn in 1780. This eastern shore of the Bay was part of the large
Susannaberg sugar plantation at the top of the watershed. It was split off with Estate Denis Bay and in 1906, and separated from Denis Bay in 1920. A small bay rum oil still was operational on the property in the late 19th century, and a tiny factory distilled rum from sugarcane for manufacture of the bay rum cologne. John Lindquist, owner of much of St. John's north shore in the early 20th century, planted coconuts, bananas, and other fruit trees on this property, on neighboring Denis Bay, and at his home at
Cinnamon Bay.
Land area and owners In 1950, former
New York City residents Robert Gibney and his wife, Nancy Flagg Gibney, purchased the property. Robert was a writer, artist, and friend of
Thomas Merton; Nancy was a feature editor for
Vogue. Before the purchase, Gibney Beach was known as Hawksnest Beach. The original parcel of land the Gibneys purchased has been divided and sold in a number of ways over the years. Some of the beach area is now part of the
Virgin Islands National Park. A small piece of land, on the far northeastern section of the beach, was sold in 1957 to
J. Robert Oppenheimer, an atomic scientist and member of the
Manhattan Project. The house was later refurbished by the government and opened as a community center.
The Gibneys Robert and Nancy Gibney came to St. John on their honeymoon in 1946. Robert was 31 at the time and Nancy was 25. They planned to spend a few months in the islands; in order to stay this extended time, Nancy had to quit her job. Robert planned to write a novel while in the islands. The Gibneys rented a small cottage on Cruz Bay Beach. Later, when friends Julius and Cleome Wadsworth, who lived on Denis Bay, moved back to the United States for the summer, the Gibneys stayed in their home rent-free. When the Wadsworths returned the next winter, the Gibneys were not yet ready to leave, so they moved into a shed on
Henley Cay, an island on Caneel Bay. He lived on Gibney Beach, planting and tending to a garden of tropical trees. John Gibney's remains are interred on the property within his garden. After living on the beach for seven years, the Gibneys were forced to sell part of their land to
J. Robert Oppenheimer in 1957 due to financial problems. Oppenheimer is known as "the father of the atomic bomb". The Gibneys sold the most northeastern part of the land to Oppenheimer and his wife, Kitty, who built a vacation home. After their death, the Oppenheimers left the land to their daughter, Toni. Toni died in 1976 and left the property to "the people of St. John". The land is now a public park. After Kitty died, the Oppenheimers' land was left to their daughter Toni. Toni later died by suicide and left the land to "the people of St. John for a public park and recreation". The Gibneys rejected the idea of a public park and expressed to Robert Meyner, Toni's executor to estate, their right of first refusal. In Meyner's responses he declared that their right of first refusal applied only to a sale, not a donation. The Gibneys fought back, warning Meyner they would engage in a new deed saying only a one-family residence could be built. Meyner responded that there would be no need for future buildings. At the time, the remaining of the Gibneys' land was valued at over $3.5 million. The Gibneys were not concerned about the money; they agreed to sell the land to the Trust for less than the market price. It became clear that without creative compromise, there would not be adequate resources to compensate Ed and Eleanor Gibney. Consequently, Ed agreed to subdivide his property to include all of his beachfront but somewhat less than his total acreage. Eleanor agreed to retain a right to remain on her property for 30 years in exchange for the reduced price. == Wildlife ==