Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park

Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Ruins of a sugar mill at the park
Location of the park in Florida
Location	Citrus County, Florida, United States
Nearest city	Homosassa, Florida
Coordinates	28°47.0′N 82°36.4′W / 28.7833°N 82.6067°W / 28.7833; -82.6067Coordinates: 28°47.0′N 82°36.4′W / 28.7833°N 82.6067°W / 28.7833; -82.6067
Established	August 12, 1970
Governing body	Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP Reference #	70000179

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins Historic State Park is a Florida State Park located in Homosassa, off U.S. 19. It contains the ruins of a sugar plantation owned by David Levy Yulee. Yulee was a delegate of the Florida Territorial Legislative Council. After Florida became a state, he was elected by the legislature in 1845 to the US Senate, becoming the first American of Jewish heritage to serve there. After Florida seceded from the Union, Yulee served in the Confederate Congress. He is credited with having developed a network of railroads that tremendously boosted the state's economy.

At Homosassa, Yulee established a sugarcane plantation, which was destroyed during the American Civil War. The original plantation covered more than 5,000 acres (2,000 ha), and was worked by approximately 1,000 enslaved African Americans. They raised sugarcane, citrus, and cotton. The large mill (which was steam-driven) ran from 1851 to 1864. It produced sugar, syrup and molasses, the latter used in making rum.

At the park, the stonework (foundation, well and 40-foot chimney) of the mill, iron gears, a cane press, and some of the other machinery remain. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 12, 1970.