Sugar Making
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 29° 00.537 W 080° 56.444
17R E 505772 N 3208978
Located off Mission Drive at the ruins west of New Smyrna Beach.
Waymark Code: WMXH36
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/12/2018
Views: 7
In Florida's early days, many investors set their sights on sugar-coarse, brown, and very valuable. To get the most from their sugar cane, some planters had their own crushing and cooking operations. At sugar plantations like Cruger-dePeyster, African-American slaves cleared the land, raised the crop, then cut and processed the cane each winter...unless hurricanes had smashed their plants.
Today, we can still see the outlines of this 1830s factory and its sugar-making process"
1) Steam-powered cane crusher extracted the juice.
2) The liquid was heated in a series (or train) of kettles, gradually thickening until it was ladled into wooden cooling troughs.
3) The crystalized sugar was packed in barrels and stored in a drying roof called the surgery. It drained for several weeks beef shipping, and some factories(though not Cruger-dePeyster) made rum from the molasses that dripped out.
Producing sugar was a long, hot, dangerous job-especially near the powerful cane crusher before anyone could shut it down. No wonder sugar was a prized commodity. Like oil today, it came with large financial and human risks.
Marker Number: None
Date: None
County: Volusia
Marker Type: Plaque
Sponsored or placed by: Volusia County
Website: Not listed
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