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start-up, the sugar cane production at the
Central Mercedita was so excellent that its owner started buying out neighboring sugar mills, including La Laurel, La Fe, Destierro, Bronce, Mallorquinas, Barrancas, La Teresa, Union, Mattei, Margarita, Cintrona, and rented the Cayo Verde sugar mill. Hacienda Mercedita produced sugar from sugarcane and packaged it at its nearby Snow White Sugar Company on the spacious flatlands complex of Central Mercedita, founded in 1949. The land area increased from the original 300 acres to the area currently (February 2015) bounded in the east by the municipality of
233:
1870s, shortly after the abolition of slavery, the owners offered free garden plots both within and outside the
Hacienda at the plantation in exchange for dependent resident labor force. The Hacienda established a general store where laborers bought goods on credit from the planter. "Planters paid wages in tokens that could only be used to buy goods at its grocery and general stores, thus hoping to create a cycle of indebtedness that would bind workers to their estates." The sugarcane plantation virtually became a
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Mercedita, Inc., was the center of most activity, purchasing sugarcane from local farmers and milling and processing it into cane sugar. Central
Mercedita Inc. and its sister company, Puerto Rican Sugar Refinery, Inc., together engaged in Puerto Rico cane sugar production during this period. In the fall of 1971, these enterprises were doing business as Central Mercedita Co. and as Puerto Rico American Refinery, Inc.
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1994 is generally considered the closing date for the sugar mill. Shortly afterwards, sugar refining at
Mercedita stopped altogether with the closing of the remaining sugarcane farms in the island. In 1998, the Government of Puerto Rico gave title to the homes and associated land to the remaining residents of the old Mercedita plantation.
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brand sugar was frozen by law in an attempt "to keep the voters happy." On 31 December 1994, Central
Mercedita stopped the milling of sugarcane, but continued its sugar refining operations to accommodate other sugar cane mills in Puerto Rico that depended on it for their milling operations. However,
208:
By 1953, the rum business had become highly successful and the
Serrallés family built a new refinery incorporating modern equipment. By February 21, 1953, as the Hacienda was no longer a mostly residential facility, but had taken on more of an administrative role, its sugar cane corporation, Central
232:
Originally designed as the residential quarters of its
Serrallés owner and his family when it was built in 1861, the Hacienda took on a more industrial role in the following years, as the cane sugar business expanded rapidly, turning into the large Central Mercedita cane sugar factory. By the late
166:
founded a sugarcane hacienda (plantation) in 1861 in Ponce and named it
Hacienda Mercedita, in honor of his wife Mercedes Perez (1845–1922). The Hacienda quickly developed into a major sugar factory called Central Mercedita. According to Encyclopedia Puerto Rico, in 1862, just one year after its
273:
In 1973, the government of Puerto Rico created the
Corporacion Azucarera de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Sugar Corporation, also known as Sugar Corporation of Puerto Rico) in an attempt to save the sugar industry, which for the previous two decades had been decaying. The new Corporation oversaw the
191:
For some time the
Serrallés operation produced various local rum brands, most of which were short-lived. Inspired by the success of other rum producers in the island, the family decided to launch a refined brand with the intention of exporting it elsewhere. In 1932, the Ron
187:
In 1865, Juan Serrallés Colon experimented with rum production at the Hacienda, producing his first casks of rum. He perfected his rum formula and the rum business grew rapidly. By 1890, Hacienda Mercedita produced over 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of rum-making sugarcane.
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operations of the remaining 13 sugarcane mills, including Central Mercedita, and those of the Snow White Sugar Refinery, the only sugar refinery left in the Island. The Puerto Rico Land Authority had ownership of the
929:
The Rise and Decline of Puerto Rico's Sugar Industry, by Nydia R. Suarez. Sugar and Sweetener: S&O/SSS-224 (December 1998) Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Page 31.
920:
The Rise and Decline of Puerto Rico's Sugar Industry, by Nydia R. Suarez. Sugar and Sweetener: S&O/SSS-224 (December 1998) Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Page 25.
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either harsher in taste or a foreign brand, as it was made in Cuba. In the 1930s, with money pouring in, Juan Serralles built a spacious new home for his family in his estate in Ponce, today called the
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Central Mercedita existed since at least 1921, but before 1949 it operated as part of the SucesiĂłn J. Serralles company which included the other sugar and run-related enterprises. In 1949, however,
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844:
Wadelmiro Arroyo, Defendant, Appellant v. United States of America, Appellee. (256 F.2d 549, No. 5261). United States Court of Appeals First Circuit. Heard Feb. 7, 1958; Decided June 25, 1958.
350:
1896 – Juan Serralles purchases nearby haciendas and incorporates them into Hacienda Mercedita: Hacienda Laurel, H. La Fe, H. Destierro, H. Bronce, H. Ponceña, and H. Cintrona (p. 33)
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In the 1950s, both the sugar cane and rum business stabilized and the Hacienda ran two parallel operations, one producing, packaging, selling, and distributing cane sugar under the
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62:. Today Hacienda Mercedita no longer grows sugarcane and its lands are instead used for growing mangoes, grasses, landscape plants and palms, coconut palms, bananas, and seeds.
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The community where the old Central Mercedita operated still stands. It too goes by the name "Central Mercedita". The main access road is PR-5506.
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DE 50-ton locomotive on the grounds of the Central Mercedita sugarcane mill. The sugarcane plantation virtually became a company town of its own.
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However, for a number of reasons, the new government corporation "immediately bled money." Ten years later, in 1983, the price of Mercedita's
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Map Showing Susceptibility to Rainfall-triggered Landslides in the Municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico: Scientific Investigations Map I-2818.
908:
La Hacienda Azucarera: Su Crecimiento y Crisis en Puerto Rico (Siglo XIX)” by Andres Ramos Mattei.1981. pp. 96-97. Life in the Hacienda
51:
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1979 – Central Mercedita is sold to the government of Puerto Rico, as the sugar cane industry is declining considerably (p. 45)
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1926 – Joint venture with American investors create the Porto Rican American Sugar Refining Inc. to produce white sugar (p. 38)
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Geopolitical Map of the Municipality showing Central Mercedita is located southeast of PR-10 and PR-52. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
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1963 – Central Mercedita buys outstanding shares of the Puerto Rican American Sugar Refining to become the sole owner (p. 40)
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rum distillery, however, is an expanding and successful company still operating from the same original location, in barrio
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become its own corporation, being incorporated on that year as "Central Mercedita, Inc." See Mariano Vidal Armstrong's
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1969 – Another Serralles family business, Destileria Serralles (founded 1935), buys Central Mercedita (p. 40)
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In June 2020, the hacienda served as a backdrop for an educational photoshoot of the traditional Puerto Rican
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Following is a timeline listing the principal events, and their dates, in the life of Hacienda Mercedita.
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In the fall of 2001, Sugar Corporation of Puerto Rico which owned the Mercedita sugar refinery and the
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is attempting to acquire the grounds of the old Central Mercedita to convert it into a city park.
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1949 – Central Mercedita Inc. is founded to process sugar cane form other haciendas (p. 40)
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brand sugar at its nearby packaging plant. Hacienda Mercedita was also the site of origin of a
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sugar brand was contemplating the building of a sugar plant large enough to supply all 50,000
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La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 33. Issue 1630. Pages 20-21. 23 February 2015.
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La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 33. Issue 1630. Pages 20-21. 23 February 2015.
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By Mattew C. Larsen, Marylin Santiago, Randall Jibson, and Eduardo Questell. USGS. 2004.
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125:(English: Land Authority). Though Hacienda Mercedita was located in a different barrio,
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238:
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Jason Rodriguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 14 October 2009. Page 6.
162:, settled in Ponce and founded Hacienda Teresa. Following in his father's footsteps,
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Annual Reports of the Secretary of War, Volume 9 By United States War Dept. Page 206
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brand and the other producing, packaging, selling, and distributing rum under the
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At the beginning of the 19th century, Don Sebastian Serrallés, a Spaniard from
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1995 – The Government of Puerto Rico shuts down Central Mercedita (p. 45)
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La Sucesión Juan Serrallés, Inc., festeja sus primeros 150 años de historia.
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La Sucesión Juan Serrallés, Inc., festeja sus primeros 150 años de historia.
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label. For the rum side of the house, Serralles incorporated a new company,
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121:, where the local sugar cane was processed, is now owned by Puerto Rico's
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La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 28 April. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
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closed down in December 1994, and its sugar mill site is abandoned and in
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Associated Press: Costs, Competition Decay Puerto Rico's Sugar Industry
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Ponce, Puerto Rico: Patronato del Castillo Serrallés. 1998. pp. 23-45.
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Abandoned Central Mercedita sugar refinery office building. Note the
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brand was born and became popular with locals who considered rival
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Former 300-acre (120 ha) sugarcane plantation in Ponce, Puerto Rico
1076:"Repica la Bomba entre los viejos hierros de la Central Mercedita"
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The Hacienda was the administrative center of the large sugarcane
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1143:", 21 photos, 15 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
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1914 – (11 April) Succession J. Serralles created (p. 34)
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En el Senado: Promuevem la Central como Centro Agropecuario.
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and other spirits. After operating continuously since 1949,
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Hacienda Mercedita Foundry, Sabanetas, Ponce Municipio, PR
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El Museo Castillo Serrallés, The Serralles Castle Museum.
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1879 – Ox carts replaced by railroad system (p. 28)
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Sugar companies in insular areas of the United States
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Ownership ceded to the residents of Central Mercedita
1204:
Historic American Engineering Record in Puerto Rico
1122:
The Rise and Decline of Puerto Rico's Sugar Economy
1249:Industrial buildings and structures in Puerto Rico
40:sign and decal on the left of the building facade.
1189:Buildings and structures in Ponce, Puerto Rico
341:1861 – Hacienda Mercedita founded (p. 23)
85:production in 1865 that became the successful
8:
1229:Food and drink companies established in 1861
302:of sugar consumed each year in Puerto Rico.
1062:Victoria para vecinos de Central Mercedita.
265:Ruins of the Snow White sugar refinery in
109:, southeast of the intersection of routes
344:1869 – Mechanization started (p. 28)
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241:line, workers' housing, transportation
577:"Serrallés Rum History begins in 1865"
1194:Companies based in Ponce, Puerto Rico
7:
1137:Historic American Engineering Record
648:"City in Spain Sebastian came from"
1234:1861 establishments in Puerto Rico
1219:Sugar plantations in the Caribbean
862:Puerto Rico American Refinery Inc.
602:Central Mercedita closes its doors
73:as well as that of its cane sugar
25:
1042:Centrales Azucareras (In Spanish)
1269:Sugar plantations in Puerto Rico
382:
1259:Unused buildings in Puerto Rico
160:Begur, Girona, Catalonia, Spain
461:(Second edition. 1986. p. 72.)
459:Ponce, Notas para su Historia.
1:
1214:Rail transport in Puerto Rico
1199:Sugar industry in Puerto Rico
237:, and eventually had its own
47:was a 300-acre (120 ha)
1082:(in Spanish). 5 January 2020
333:Timeline of important events
551:"Snow White sugar refinery"
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961:Stopped milling operations
939:Creation of PR Sugar Corp.
749:"Encyclopedia Puerto Rico"
434:Ponce and Guayama Railroad
494:Puerto Rico’s New History
171:, in the north by barrio
89:rum distillery producing
77:plant which packaged the
1244:Haciendas in Puerto Rico
1132:Central Mercedita, Ponce
1100:Neysa RodrĂguez Deynes.
1051:Retrieved 14 March 2010.
1032:Retrieved 28 March 2010.
1008:Sugar Co. of Puerto Rico
419:Museo Castillo Serrallés
228:Life within the Hacienda
1139:(HAER) No. PR-8, "
278:sugar refinery itself.
723:"Destileria Serrallés"
270:
150:
58:, founded in 1861, by
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1165:18.01826°N 66.56378°W
1030:SUGAR REFINERY TALKS.
849:27 April 2012 at the
312:municipality of Ponce
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144:
35:
1127:Sugar in Puerto Rico
1019:Sugar Refinery Talks
887:on 26 September 2009
775:"First casks of rum"
399:Destileria Serralles
222:DestilerĂa SerrallĂ©s
164:Juan Serrallés Colón
123:Autoridad de Tierras
87:DestilerĂa SerrallĂ©s
60:Juan Serrallés Colón
1209:Industrial railways
1170:18.01826; -66.56378
1161: /
825:on 25 December 2019
781:on 25 December 2019
729:on 25 December 2019
583:on 25 December 2019
514:on 25 December 2019
290:Intent to resurrect
1047:2010-04-17 at the
995:2009-07-06 at the
966:2008-06-18 at the
867:2008-06-18 at the
819:"New rum refinery"
805:2010-12-04 at the
800:Rum-making acreage
607:2008-06-18 at the
496:by James L. Deitz.
390:Puerto Rico portal
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154:The sugar business
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56:Ponce, Puerto Rico
45:Hacienda Mercedita
42:
979:1994 Closing Date
492:Foundation date.
455:Central Mercedita
414:Mercedita Airport
251:Mercedita Airport
119:Central Mercedita
95:Central Mercedita
71:Central Mercedita
18:Central Mercedita
16:(Redirected from
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1168: /
881:"Residence"
674:"H. Teresa"
173:Coto Laurel
1183:Categories
1156:66°33′50″W
1153:18°01′06″N
759:27 October
469:References
296:Snow White
283:Snow White
276:Snow White
247:commissary
214:Snow White
169:Juana Diaz
145:Abandoned
79:Snow White
52:plantation
1080:EsNoticia
684:1 October
508:"Founder"
424:Ron Don Q
306:City park
267:Mercedita
127:Sabanetas
103:Serrallés
49:sugarcane
1045:Archived
993:Archived
964:Archived
865:Archived
847:Archived
803:Archived
605:Archived
481:300 acre
376:See also
147:Plymouth
75:refinery
1086:20 June
329:dance.
198:Bacardi
137:History
131:PR-5506
69:called
257:Demise
101:. The
441:Notes
327:Bomba
318:Today
243:fleet
224:Inc.
218:Don Q
194:Don Q
115:PR-52
111:PR-10
107:Vayas
99:ruins
91:Don Q
1088:2020
893:2009
831:2009
787:2009
761:2009
735:2009
686:2009
660:2009
589:2009
563:2009
520:2009
310:The
300:tons
239:rail
113:and
67:mill
133:).
83:rum
54:in
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