John Hathaway

social media & sugar mill ruins

Wow, my previous post on the Playa Grande sugar mill ruins is currently the top retult on Google for "Vieques sugar mill". Between this blog and Twitter I'm becoming a little bit of a part time tour guide. This week Chris from Chicago got in touch with me through the sugar mill post and Suzanne from Philadelphia through Twitter, both to get advice on Vieques. We ended up having a fun time with Chris and his boyfriend and Suzanne and her sister for sunset coctails at Al's Mar Azul the other night. Nice to actually get to meet people in person that I've been interacting with virtually.

Yesterday I took Chris and Parker out to the sugar mill. The mill only closed about 70 years ago, so it's amazing to see how much the jungle has reclaimed it already. It's always humbling and a little creepy to walk out there among the ghosts of Vieques past. I was a bit remiss in my guide duties by not thinking to bring/recommend bug spray. The mosquitos were crazy out there, as you can tell from Parker's reaction in the photo where the mosquitos are trying to fly away with his arm.

Filed under // Sugar Mill Vieques

Vieques: Sugar mill ruins

In March we spent a morning exploring the ruins of the Playa Grande sugar mill with some friends.

Starting in the 1830s, sugar was king in Vieques. There were once 4 sugar mills here, along with thousands of free and slave laborers to work the fields and mills. A century later, only the Playa Grande mill remained. This map hows the area at about that time.

It comes from The Route: The Forgotten Side Of Vieques, by Pragmacio, an interesting book with short first person accounts of his life here from the end of the sugar era into the Navy era. The mill closed early in the 40s when the Navy took over most of the island.

As you can see in the photos, it has been largely reclaimed by the jungle. It’s rather eerie to walk in the ruins of what was once such a busy center of industry. A few have begun to appreciate its historical significance and the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust is now giving occasional tours.