The Annaberg Sugar Mill on St. John Island

Written by Julie Greiner

St. John Island was settled in the early 1700s by Danish immigrants because of its potential as a sugar cane producing colony. The ruins of the Annaberg Sugar Plantation are a part of the islands agricultural history. This is just one of some twenty-five sugar factories which once were active on St. John Island. The site is open for tours on a daily basis and parking is provided a short distance from the ruins.

Annaberg Mills of the United States Virgin Islands

Annaberg means "Anna's Hill" and was named after the daughter of a plantation owner, William Gottschalk. The factory was manned by slave labor until 1848 when the Danish West Indies slaves were emancipated. There was molasses and rum produced at the mill in addition to sugar. St. John Island blossomed into a thriving society during this period. Annaberg Mill was established in 1718 and is one of St. John Island's best preserved examples of the culture during the Colonial era. The soil is very thin Exploring the Ruins on St. John Island, USVI

Exploring the Ruins on St. John Island, USVI

on this island and the hill provided an area that could be layered into terraces. Fertilizer of ash and dung provided an ideal soil condition for sugar cane growth. Sugar cane requires a growing period of up to eighteen months and the tropical climate of the Virgin Islands permitted the long growing period.

The harvesting of sugar cane and the processing it entails is extremely hard labor. The long gestation period of growth required of sugar cane can only be accomplished in a continually tropical climate. The crushing of the cane was accomplished with the means of a wind driven mill. When there was no wind - a horse driven mill was substituted. The juice is collected and then boiled in copper pans. The fires that heat the "coppers" are fueled with the dry cane stalks. Up to some five hundred gallons of juice Exploring the Annaberg Sugar Mill Ruins on St. John Island, USVI was produced per hour using this method.

Remnants of the windmill and factory itself are visible. This tour will take you back in time to an era long past. The processing of molasses, sugar and rum are well described. This tour also presents a fantastic opportunity for the photographer among you to really shine. The ruins are very picturesque and the natural settings on the hillside present a beautiful back-drop for the professional and novice photographer. The sugar cane farms did not affect the aesthetics of the island, but enhanced them. The stone terracing on the hillsides and use of natural stone and its aging has provided beauty to the landscapes.