Annaberg Sugar Plantation near Leinster Bay in St. John, Virgin Islands — The Caribbean (The West Indies)
The Sugar Factory
Photographed by Michael Fischer, January 9, 2026
1. The Sugar Factory Marker
The building you are standing in once housed a complete sugar factory. The extracted cane juice flowed from the windmill or animal mill, through gutters, and into this boiling room.
Each sugar factory operation required an artisan "sugar cooker," usually an enslaved person, who managed the delicate sugar-making process. The sugar cooker decided when the sugar had been reduced enough to move it to the next copper. Over-cooking the juice produced molasses rather than the more valuable sugar.
① The juice was boiled down in a series of copper kettles, called "coppers." It was first brought to a boil in the largest copper where it flowed in from outside.
② Laborers then ladled the liquid into a series of coppers, each smaller and hotter than the last.
③ By the time it reached the final kettle, it was a thick, brown, gooey syrup.
④ At this point, lime and ash powder were added to remove impurities and temper the syrup for granulation.
⑤ The syrup cooled in flat wooden pans, creating a crystallized brown sugar called "muscovado." It took about one gallon of cane juice to produce one pound
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Highly-skilled men and women performed the unpleasant, dangerous work in the boiler room. The room was unbearably hot. The boiling sugar stuck like glue and caused severe burns if it touched their skin.
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Windmills series list.
Location. 18° 21.77′ N, 64° 43.781′ W. Marker is near Leinster Bay in St. John, Virgin Islands. It is in Annaberg Sugar Plantation. It can be reached from Leinster Bay Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: St John VI 00830, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, it is one of the Lesser Antilles on the Caribbean Sea, on in the Atlantic Ocean, in North America, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Producing Sugar (here,
Photographed by Michael Fischer, January 9, 2026
2. Sugar Factory Ruins and Marker
More about this marker. Annaberg Sugar Plantation is a unit of Virgin Islands National Park.
Also see . . . Annaberg Sugar Plantation. (Submitted on January 17, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 17, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 48 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 17, 2026, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
