New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

A Stray Relic

The Cruger-dePester Sugar Mill

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, April 23, 2020

1. A Stray Relic Marker

Inscription.
Some students of the Cruger-dePester ruins believe this iron beam came from the plantation's sawmill. Meant to transfer force from a steam engine to a cutting blade, it probably was cast in New York along with the sugar factory’s other heavy equipment.

A decade after Seminoles raided this site, another aspiring sugar maker found a use for the Cruger-dePester’s abandoned machinery. In the 1840’s, John Marshall moved the equipment to Dunlawton plantation, in today’s Port Orange. Since Marshall also had a sawmill, it’s hard to say why he left this piece behind.

Erected by Volusia County.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers.

Location. 29° 0.542′ N, 80° 56.449′ W. Marker is in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, in Volusia County. It can be reached from the intersection of Old Mission Road and Mission Drive, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 600 Mission Drive, New Smyrna Beach FL 32168, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

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this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Columbus’s Chapel? (here, next to this marker); Sugar Making (a few steps from this marker); Risky Business: (a few steps from this marker); Low-Tech Mill (within shouting distance of this marker); Native Stone (within shouting distance of this marker); Turnbull Grand Canal (approx. ¾ mile away); Old St. Rita Colored Mission Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Site of Old Stone Wharf (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Smyrna Beach.

Also see . . . Sugar Mill Ruins. (Submitted on April 27, 2020.)

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, April 23, 2020

2. A Stray Relic Marker

A Stray Relic image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, April 23, 2020

3. A Stray Relic

Dedication plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, April 23, 2020

4. Dedication plaque

Credits. This page was last revised on April 27, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 25, 2020, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 537 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 25, 2020, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.