The Price of Sugar

Friday was a beautiful day and perfect for part two of my swim in the history of this little beach town sixty-eight miles south of St Augustine, Florida, America’s oldest settlement. Last month the Scriblets pages included my impressions of the New Smyrna Beach Historical Museum, a small but richly endowed re-creation of the city’s past. While visiting the museum I learned about the ruins of an old sugar mill only a couple of miles away and made a note to visit the site. What a find that turned out to be.

On his second voyage to the New World Christopher Columbus carried sugarcane from Europe, introducing it to the island just south of Florida, which they called Hispaniola and we call the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Not long after that it was shipped to Florida for cultivation. Sugar is a work heavy crop and the need for labor is a big reason slavery became important on Florida plantations. To produce just one ton of sugar a plantation had to grow and crush seven tons of sugarcane. The labor involved required large work crews.

From the latter years of the eighteenth century until 1835, Florida’s sugar industry was concentrated in east Florida, on land between the St Johns River and the Atlantic. By the 1830s there were no fewer than twenty-two sugar plantations along the coastline producing sugar, molasses, and rum. The sugar industry brought prosperity to the region, employing the skills of farmhands, architects, stonemasons, riverboat crews, shopkeepers, and traders. Of course, African slaves provided the backbreaking labor, and that too was another form of economy. It all ended with the outbreak of the Second Seminole War in 1835. The Indians were revolting against US policies that would remove them from their homelands to land in the Oklahoma territories. They had a devastating effect on the plantations.

In 1830, Henry Cruger and William dePeyster purchased 600 acres to build a sugar mill. The land had originally been part of the Turnbull grant which led to the planting of a 1,255 strong Smyrnéa colony. Using the land as collateral, Cruger and dePeyster secured a $10,000 loan for the purchase of steam equipment from a New York foundry. But their venture was ill-timed. After only five years the sugar mill was destroyed by the warring Seminole Indians. Today the beautiful arched walls remain to give a glimpse of early American industry and the struggles two pioneering businessmen faced.

The ruins in New Smyrna are surrounded by lush green that includes oak, palmetto and tangerine trees. One historical marker on the site explains, “The mill had little time to produce sugar or repay investors before it was wrecked by the Seminoles. In December 1835, the Indians ran off the overseer, burned the complex, and destroyed other plantations throughout the region. Helping the Indians stage the raids were Cruger-dePeyster slaves.”

Before Surfboards & Bikinis

Disappointed by the locked doors on Monday, Tuesday afternoon was set aside for the small but surprisingly good New Smyrna Beach Historical Museum. The museum is located in the historic district, on Sams Avenue, just off Canal, the main street. The top photograph on the right is a look at the corner of Canal and Sams Avenue at some time in the 1930s. The museum is a hundred feet off the right edge of the photo. The store on the corner is now a restaurant called Jason’s Corner Restaurant and where I had lunch before going to the museum. The best thing about Jason’s? The outside table on Canal Street. The club sandwich was nothing more than an ordinary halved ham & swiss on rye with a tiny bag of potato chips and a Beverly Hills price tag. I asked the waitress about the photo on the menu (same photo on the right) and she said, “I think it’s old.”

The Historical Museum building (second on the right) dates from 1872, was the first public school in New Smyrna Beach and cost $42 to build. The outside appearance is deceptive. Nothing from the exterior gives any clue to the richness of the collection inside. Yes, it is small but not one foot of its space is wasted. For any visitor patient enough to look closely at the exhibits, the result is an excellent overview of the city’s history, its founding and its early years. The volunteers on duty are very knowledgeable and eager to answer questions.

In April of last year I wrote a few lines about the history of New Smyrna Beach and it’s too bad I didn’t know then what I learned today. Some of those earlier remarks could use a dash of correction fluid. To my own loss it wasn’t until recently that I learned about the city’s historical museum.

During the eighteenth century years of empire building, Spain and Britain agreed to exchange parts of their New World holdings, and in 1763 Cuba went to Spain while Britain got Florida. Dr Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish doctor and at one time British Consul to the city of Smyrna, Greece (now Izmir, Turkey) knew that the British crown sought to plant colonies in the newly acquired Florida territory and so developed a plan to take European settlers to the area. Planning, negotiation, and gathering enough capital took time, but by 1763 he had received for his project a 60,000 acre land grant on the east coast of Florida, had procured eight ships, 1,400 indentured servant-colonists and the minimum stocks needed to seed a colony in Florida.

It was a plan grander by far than any previous British attempts and everyone involved had high hopes. The settlers were contracted to labor until the colony became profitable, at which point they would be given land in Florida. They came mostly from the Mediterranean island of Minorca, but also from Italy, Greece, Spain and Corsica. The colony was established and named Smyrnéa after the home of Turnbull’s wife and site of his former consulship, Smyrna, Greece. It was to be an agricultural colony, the main crop being indigo (photo at the right). This became a profitable export, with two or three harvestings a year. Unfortunately for the settlers and for Dr Turnbull, an artificial form of blue dye was on the horizon. But the beginning was profitable and the colonists were optimistic.

In time drought and disease began to badly tax the settlement and discontent became commonplace among the increasingly hungry people. Dr Turnbull and his investors were primarily businessmen and the loses began to weigh heavily. The colonists felt used and tied to an indenture that promised no end. By 1777 the Smyrnéa colony had reached an end. The American Revolution combined with drought years, disease and discontent finally brought the venture to its knees.

For the next 100 years the area was controlled for the most part by native Indians. In 1887 the town of New Smyrna was incorporated. The population was 150.

Most visitors to the city these days are here for the beach, the fishing and the scenic beauty of those beaches. I have a friend coming to visit soon from Japan. One of the must-see places during that time will be the New Smyrna Beach Historical Museum.

120 Sams Avenue, New Smyrna Beach • Tuesday-Saturday 10:00-4:00 p.m.