FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-052

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (March 31, 2026) – This edition of Fun with Maps celebrates the Virgin Islands becoming a United States property – even if for military defense reasons.

Island for Sale

The US purchased Danish Virgin Islands, which became the US Virgin Islands, for $25 million on March 31, 1917.

This was largely to help the concerned US to have a naval base in the Caribbean even though the World War was ending.

At the same time the US relinquished holding interest in Greenland in the favor of Denmark.

Interest in the Virgin Island goes back to 1860 as a possible US naval base.  All this was part of keeping US interest in the Caribbean and in South America.

Today, the US Virgin Islands are a tourist mecca, for those just enjoying the untamed islands of St. Croix or St. Johns or the bustling Charlotte Amalie.

Ruth White’s 1938 pictorial map of the Caribbean is presented here.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.