New River Estate

New River was the last sugar estate operating on Nevis and it shut in 1958, which means the works there stand more complete than anywhere else on the island: the stone windmill tower, the animal mill, the boiling house with its coppers, the chimney and the steam machinery, left where they stopped rather than demolished. Sugar had been the island's whole economy for three centuries and this is where it ended.

What's there

• The windmill tower - the stone structure that ground the cane.
• The boiling house - the coppers where the juice was reduced.
• The steam machinery - the later equipment left in place at the closure.
• The 1958 date - the end of sugar on Nevis after three hundred years.

When to go

December to April is the dry season. The site is open ground and accessible at any time. Morning light is best on the stonework.

Practical notes

The structures are unstable and climbing on them is unwise. There is no interpretation on site. The estate's history as ground worked by enslaved people is not presented anywhere there.

Nearby

Gingerland is west, and Eden Brown is north.