Guiding Through History: New Panels Illuminate Hamilton Estate Sugar Mill's Past
The Panels ready to be installed and get to work!
Echoes of Sugar
Like many Caribbean islands where sugar was grown, Nevis still bears the marks of its sugar cane past. Weathered sugar works and massive stone windmills dot the landscape, and the remains of steam-driven machinery with their copper cauldrons—once used to boil cane juice into sugar—sit abandoned, slowly overtaken by nature. The Hamilton Estate Sugar Mill, situated right next to our Vanilla Paradise Nevis farm, is one example.
The Hamilton Sugar Mill: A Neighbouring Landmark
Part of the Nevis Heritage Trail, the Sugar Mill at Hamilton Estate has long been a site where visitors can explore and uncover its history. Sunday school classes came to enjoy picnics on the stairs up to the General Manager’s house in the 1970’s. However, the dense vegetation, time and the passage of hurricanes that helped the roofs fly away, have made it hard to envision how it all once worked. However, these enduring relics do tell the story of a radical change in an industry and illustrate part of the island’s heritage.
Panels in Place
A key milestone in this journey was the installation of beautifully designed informational panels that bring the story of the Sugar Mill to life. The text for the panels was written by our friend Douglas Mowat, a passionate engineer, and refined with the meticulous input of Nevis Historical & Conservation Society colleagues—David Rollinson, Christine Eickelmann, David Small, Phil Dunning, and Tina Bates—now stand proudly along the self-guided walking trail.
Built to Last
Expertly designed by John Wedderburn and Nhekelon Nesbit, crafted by Hossein Ottley and framed in durable metal by Sam Webbe, these panels are built to withstand the elements, ensuring that visitors can explore the mill’s history for years to come.
Enhancing the Visitor Experience
To further enrich the experience, we are constructing a wooden platform near the Long Wall and the Crystallization and Curing Area. This will allow visitors to safely peer down into the five large hearths that once concentrated and refined sugar, making the story of the mill even more accessible.
Nevis was once the source of very high-quality sugar to the world and we look forward to writing more in depth in a future blog about the Hamilton Sugar Mill, its history, the resilient people who worked there and the formidable machinery they used.
For now, if you tour our vanilla farm, why not take the time to also visit the Hamilton Sugar Mill, and let us know what you think of the panels! 😀
