Sugar Mill Ruins Tour – March 23, 2019
The Gallery is here: Sugar Mill Outings Gallery
From the late 1700’s to the early 1800’s, Northeast Florida had several plantations that had sugar mills. Most of these plantations were destroyed during what has been labeled the “Second Seminole Wars” in 1836. Most of the wood structures were destroyed by fire, but the sugar mills were typically stone structures, and the ruins of several remain. For our March 23, 2019 outing, we will visit three ruins, including one housed in a botanical garden. Our first location in New Smyrna Beach is about a 1:45 – 2:00 hour drive from Jacksonville.
Depart Jacksonville between 8:00 and 8:15 A.M.
New Smyrna Beach Ruins – 10:00 – 10:45
Location: 600 Mission Drive, New Smyrna Beach
Phone number: 386-736-5953
Open daily: Sunrise to sunset
Admission: Free
The sugar mill, once part of the Cruger-dePeyster Plantation, was built in the early 19th century. This 17-acre historic site contains the ruins of the coquina sugar factory.
Sugar Mill Gardens – 11:15 – 12:30
Location: 950 Old Sugar Mill, Port Orange
Open daily: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day)
Admission: Free (Donations are appreciated)
Sugar Mill Gardens has not only sugar mill artifacts, but is a botanical garden. It features a 19th-century sugar factory; part of the former Dunlawton Plantation. Some of the machinery here is from the New Smyrna Beach ruins. All of sugar mill artifacts are housed in a roofed structure. A tripod will be needed. The gardens provide an environment where you can photograph the sugar mill artifacts, but also statues of dinosaurs from an early theme park, and flora native to Florida.
POISON IVY ALERT
The beautiful pre-spring weather has caused an early appearance of poison ivy in the Gardens. Please stay on the paths when you are in the “woodsy” areas. Wear shoes, not flip-flops.
Additional information: Dunlawton Sugarmill Gardens Web Site
Lunch on the Intracoastal Waterway – Aunt Catfish on the River – 12:45 – 2:00
Restaurant Web Site: Aunt Catfish on the River
Directions from Sugar Mill Gardens
Bulow Plantation Ruins – 2:45 – 4:00
Location: 3501 Old Kings Road
Flagler Beach FL 32136
Phone Number: 386-517-2084
Admisssion: $4.00 per vehicle (or Florida State Park Pass)
Directions: Directions from Aunt Catfish
The 150 acres of Bulow Plantation Ruins stand as a monument to the rise and fall of sugar plantations in East Florida. In 1836, the Second Seminole War swept away the prosperous Bulow Plantation where the Bulow family grew sugar cane, cotton, rice and indigo. Ruins of the former plantation, a sugar mill, a unique spring house, several wells and the crumbling foundations of the plantation house and slave cabins, show how volatile the Florida frontier was in the early 19th century. Today, a scenic walking trail leads visitors to the sugar mill ruins, listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.
Please Note: There is also a Bulow Creek State Park. That is NOT the same location.
If you plan to attend, please register using this link: Ruins Tour Registration Form
Anita I will be there and I have a friend that will be traveling with me
Thank You
Linda Lynn
Outstanding directions for navigating between locations! Thank You!
I cannot seem to edit my registration for the sugar mills trip. I will be at the first site New Smyrna Sugar Mills early Sat AM in addition to the lunch and other sites
Phil DeLisle
Hi Phil, no problem. I put you in for the early time. If you need to contact me, my cell is 215-317-7663.
Anita