Gibney Beach
Gibney Beach, or Oppenheimer Beach, is a beach on Hawksnest Bay on northern Saint John in the United States Virgin Islands. The beach's names originate from Nancy Flagg Gibney and J. Robert Oppenheimer and their families, the owners of the beach in the mid-20th century. The beach has been mostly accessible to the public since its acquisition, and a community center has been created on the property, where Oppenheimer’s house used to be.
History
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. At the time this was the only housing available, and the Gibneys ended up living there for the next three years. In 1950 Robert's father died and left Robert and Nancy enough money to buy land on St. John. They purchased of land on Hawksnest Bay and made it their own. Their house was built in the center of the beach from rocks found on site. Gibney Beach became home to Robert, Nancy, and their three children. Robert home-schooled all three. He worked for Caneel Bay during the expansion of the resort in the 1950s. In the 1960s he became a librarian in Cruz Bay. Nancy wrote short stories. Women's magazines such as McCall's and Redbook published her works.Robert died in 1973 and Nancy in 1980; both are interred in a Cruz Bay cemetery. The couple left the beach property to their children; the land was divided among them. Ed Gibney, their firstborn child, is a lifelong resident of Saint John and works as a surveyor. His sister Eleanor is on the board of the St. John Historical Society. She too is a lifelong resident on St. John, having grown up on her family's beachfront property. For 15 years she worked for the Caneel Bay Resort, becoming the chief horticulturalist. She is the author of A Field Guide to Native Trees and Plants of East End, St. John U.S. Virgin Islands. She married Gary Ray and they have two children. The Gibneys' second son, John, died in 2003. 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.
The Oppenheimers
In August 1959, after his Security Hearings, the Oppenheimers resided with John Gibney's family on the remote Caribbean island of St. John. During this period, Oppenheimer, his wife Kitty, and their daughter Toni shared the bedroom of John Gibney and his brother Ed. Subsequently, the Gibney family sold a corner lot of their private land to Oppenheimer.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. The house was left in disrepair and frequently vandalized until the Virgin Islands government took over the property and created a community center. Now, the center can be rented out by paying a small fee for such events as senior citizen outings, Boy Scout meetings, concerts, picnics, weddings, and birthday parties.
Property dispute
The Gibneys' property sale to the Oppenheimers created significant controversy between the families and the local community.To avoid overdevelopment, the Gibneys had a series of deed restrictions placed on the selling of their land. The deed restricted the property to a one-family dwelling. To preserve the natural environment, the Gibneys had to approve the placement of any structure. They also placed deed restrictions that prohibited rental of the property. And they had the right to repurchase the property if and when the Oppenheimers wanted to sell the land. This first right of refusal was the most important part of the deed to the Gibneys. At first, the Gibneys' deed did not seem to restrict the Oppenheimers, but they began renting their vacation cottage soon after it was built, through the local real estate agency. The Gibneys disapproved, and the Oppenheimers argued the tenants they were renting to were "just friends of theirs". When Robert Oppenheimer died, Kitty began construction on a tool shed on the property line between the Gibneys and the Oppenheimers, which was too close to the beach according to the Gibneys. That Christmas, both buildings the Oppenheimers built were again rented to friends. A number of lawsuits followed, and the Virgin Islands Police Department was called to intervene on several occasions.
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.
Even with the deterioration of the building and property after Toni's death, the Gibneys persisted in their fight. They wanted to regain control of the property, but faced numerous delays. When Robert Gibney died in 1973, Nancy kept fighting. She died in 1980 with the conflict unresolved. The National Park Beach took over the property at Hawksnest Beach and a parking lot, changing area, pit toilets, barbecue grills, tables, benches, and sheltered pavilions were added. The beach's visiting population grew. The land became known as Hawksnest Beach and the smaller section Gibney Beach. The Virgin Islands government took ownership of the Oppenheimers' land. They renovated the house and made improvements to the land; it is now a community center. A large iron gate was placed at the entrance to the Gibneys' property on the North Shore Road to prevent cars from entering. Two driveways serve as the entrances to the Gibneys' private property.