Photo by Seeta T. Shaw Roath

Born in Nevis, Alexander Hamilton, whose face is on the United States $10 bill, left the island at the age of 17 to attend King’s College, now Columbia University, in New York City. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, he became a captain of artillery and soon after, the aide-de-camp for General George Washington.

Hamilton later became one of America’s Founding Fathers. A political analyst, an economist and America’s first Secretary of the Treasury, he is credited with establishing the American economic system, including the creation of a national bank and a system of taxation.

In Charlestown, the Museum of Nevis History, also referred to as the Alexander Hamilton Museum, was built on the foundation of the structure where Hamilton was born. The original house, built in 1680, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1840.
Along with information on the life of Hamilton, this museum offers displays of artifacts from the political and cultural history of Nevis. Some items are from the first indigenous people who came to Nevis from other nearby islands about 4,000 years ago.

U.S. Ambassador presents a special gift
to the Alexander Hamilton Museum
Honoring the memory of Hamilton, United States Ambassador to the Eastern Caribbean, Her Excellency Mrs. Mary Orisman bestowed a gift of US $40,000 to the Alexander Hamilton Museum, through the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society (NHCS).

At the presentation, Ambassador Orisman said that she is delighted to represent the United States government in offering this gift, which will fund a replication of an existing Alexander Hamilton exhibition currently traveling through the United States. “This would be on permanent display here in Nevis, and we are doing this in celebration of one of our founding fathers being born here on the island of Nevis, in this wonderful house 250 years ago,” she said.

Receiving the gift on behalf of the people of Nevis, Premier Hon. Joseph Parry indicated this exhibition would be permanently housed at the Alexander Museum. Parry added, “The gift is timely, in line with the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Hamilton, an American Statesman, who was born and raised in Nevis.”

Executive Director of the NHCS, John Guilbert, thanked the ambassador for the unexpected gift. 
“It will be an exhibit that will just change the whole look of our museum and we appreciate the thought. We appreciate the support we are getting from the ambassador and from the United States. This was a real surprise to us and we really appreciate it,” he said.