Serpon Sugar Mill
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Serpon Sugar Mill is an historical site in
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...
, consisting of the remnants of a steam-powered sugar mill whose construction in 1865 marked the beginning of the country's industrial era. It is located near the village of
Sittee River Sittee River is a river in Belize. It is also the name of a village along the river. River Located in central Belize, the mangroves located at the mouth of this river are the tallest ever reported for the Caribbean region and among the tallest an ...
in the Stann Creek district. The cultivation of
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
was introduced to Belize, before becoming a
British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...
, in 1848 by the
Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...
and
Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...
refugees fleeing from the
Caste War Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
in the
Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula (, also , ; es, Península de Yucatán ) is a large peninsula in southeastern Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north ...
. After the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
in 1865, American immigrants from the southern
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
invested heavily in sugar plantations and small sugar mills throughout southern Belize. Serpon Estate was bought by a Scottish man named William Bowman. In 1863, Bowman and the owners of another estate, Regalia, began construction on two steam-powered mills, marking the arrival of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
in Belize. Parts of the sugar mill at Serpon were manufactured by Stewart and Company in Glasgow, and it's
crusher A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel, sand or rock dust. Crushers may be used to reduce the size, or change the form, of waste materials so they can be more easily disposed of or recycled, or to re ...
,
boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...
,
beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newc ...
and furnace were all powered by steam. During its peak, it is estimated that the Serpon sugar mill was producing and shipping over 770 kilograms of sugar a month. This and the output from the Regalia mill is said to have fuelled Belize's
economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
for about 30 years. By the start of the 20th century, however, sugar production was found to be more profitable in the Corozal and
Orange Walk Orange marches are a series of parades by members of the Orange Order and other Protestant fraternal societies, held during the summer months in various Commonwealth nations, most notably Ulster. The parades typically build up to 12 July ce ...
districts, which led to the abandonment of the Serpon and Regalia mills in 1910. In 2009, the ruins of the Serpon Sugar Mill were designated an archaeological reserve.


References

Archaeological sites in Belize History of British Honduras History of sugar Protected areas of Belize {{Belize-museum-stub