Approximately 1,000 slaves operated the 5,100-acre sugar plantation. Crops grown included sugar cane, citrus, cotton, and produce just to name a few. Spain deeded most of the plantation to Yulee during the Spanish occupation. The most imposing feature of the plantation was the sugar mill located near the Homosassa River. The mill operated for 13 years, producing sugar, syrup and molasses. (Molasses was used to make rum.) The mill was abandoned during the Civil War and Yulee’s plantation home, located down the river, was burned. The plantation and mill never recovered from the war. During a visit to this small park you will see the ruins of this once prosperous mill. Still standing are the steam boiler, crushing machinery, and large cooking kettles (all shipped to Florida from New York) used to process the sugar cane. Also remaining are the stonework chimney, well and foundation all quarried and constructed by the slaves. A small oval pathway leads visitors around the ruins to interpretive plaques that explain how the system worked.