In 1625, the first English land grant in the West Indies was given to Samuel Jefferson II in Saint Kitts. He was the great, great grandfather of U.S. president Thomas Jefferson. Samuel and his brother initially planted cotton, indigo and tobacco. After recognizing the environment was not conducive to these crops, their focus switched to sugar cane in the mid-17th century. This led to the production of rum from 1681 until 1924. You can walk among the ruins of this historic plantation. On the grounds of Wingfield Estate are the remnants of several cane processing and rum distillery buildings such as this stone chimney.
