Sint Maarten Off The Beaten Path Tips by grandmaR

Fort Amsterdam Groot Baai St Maartin Lighthouse

For some reason, I did not check on lighthouses that I could see in the various ports we visited, or I would have known that Sint Maarten had a lighthouse. The light station was established 1876. It is not active now, but it consisted of a post light mounted on a short square tower atop the ruins of Fort Amsterdam. Findlay's 1879 light list describes a "small light on old Fort Amsterdam."

Fort Amsterdam was the site of the first Dutch fort in the Caribbean. It was built in 1631 on the peninsula between Great Bay and Little Bay. My photo from the ship shows the fort located atop a narrow promontory on the west side of the entrance to Philipsburg harbor. By the 1950's, it was no longer used as anything except a signaling and communications station and it isn't even used for that now. All that remains are a few walls of the original bastion and some cannon. I didn't get to visit it on this visit, but I understand that there are a few informational signs at the fort.

You can drive there (or take a taxi) from Philipsburg, but there is limited parking. It is open 24 hours, and is free.

Website: http://cluster.homeandabroad.com/browse/details/sites.ha?mainInfoId=6062554&tabRef=details&rqs=$rqs