GAMBLE SUGAR CANE MILL
Posted by: 
footTRAX
N 27° 31.815 W 082° 31.685
17R E 349098 N 3046097
Located on S.R. 683 (Ellenton Gillette Road)
Waymark Code: WM1D51
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 04/09/2007
Views: 61
In 1842, as the Second Seminole War drew to a conclusion, Major Robert Gamble, Jr. established a sugar cane plantation along the banks of the Manatee River, as did others including Hector and Joseph Braden, William Craig and William Wyatt. By 1850 Major Gamble's plantation included over 3,000 acres of land, one hundred slaves, and a sugar mill that housed the best sugar processing machinery then available in the south. During the 1840's and early 1850's, Gamble was the leading producer of sugar and molasses in Florida. Falling prices and steadily mounting debts finally forced Major Gamble to sell the plantation to two Louisiana planters in 1858. With the outbreak of the Civil War, these men terminated their operation, and after selling most of the slaves and machinery, they abandoned the plantation. In 1873, the Mansion and approximately 3,000 acres of land were purchased at public auction by George Patten but the sugar mill was not restored to operation at this or any subsequent time.
Marker Number: F-218
Date: 1973
County: Manatee
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: The Manatee County Historical Society In Cooperation With The Department of State
Website: [Web Link]
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