Albion Aqueduct & Sugar Mill

Now located in the parish of St. Thomas, Albion was known as one of the largest estates in the former parish of St. David. It became the country’s leading sugar producer in the latter 19th century. During slavery, it housed over 450 enslaved people who were responsible for the mass production of sugar and rum as one of its main exports.

After emancipation, the estate moved to innovative efforts to replace the labour force that it had lost. This had included the use of a steam-powered mill with a vacuum pan system and centrifugal drying. These introductions eventually led to the Albion estate becoming one of the only estates to produce white sugar in Jamaica.

An important feature of the estate was the aqueduct that was built to transport water from Yallahs River to power the sugar mill and irrigate the fields. It is made of cut stone and bricks that span approximately 87 meters with seven arches, and the ruins of the great house are nearby.

Though sections of the property are now covered in vegetation and left in a state of ruin, this building still stands as one of Jamaica’s richest pieces of innovative history.