Sugar, Sugar – Barbados’ Sweetest Windmill Re-Opens

The Morgan Lewis Sugar Windmill, dubbed the best preserved Sugar Windmill with Stone Mill tower in the Caribbean, has recently re-opened under the sponsorship of the Barbados National Trust; the picture perfect Sugar Mill has been closed since 1946.

Built in 1727, the mill retained between 50 and 60 percent of juice from the sugar cane. Today, visitors to the mill, which operates Monday through Friday, between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., will be able to sample cane juice produced by a system that continued working up until 1945.

In 1962, the historic building was donated to the Barbados National Trust, which began its restoration two years later. Recognized even at that time as a significant piece of Barbados’ rich history, the mill was one of the oldest, largest and most complete mills in the Caribbean. Further restored in 1974, it was listed as one of the most endangered heritage sites in the world, after it deteriorated a short time after.

The mill takes its name from Morgan Lewis, a Welshman who settled in Barbados in the 1650’s and established what was to become a 365-acre plantation, of which 140 acres were arable. Today, the Morgan Lewis Appeal, administered by the Barbados National Trust, continues to raise funds for further development of the mill and surrounding area into a full-fledged heritage tourism site which would include an interpretive center, a restaurant and full restoration of its Boiling House on the premises.