The area where Hacienda Santa Elena is located has been used for agriculture since the early days of the
Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico. The fertile flooding plains of the so-called Toa Valley (
Valle del Toa) in particular were first developed for agriculture in the mid-1500s during the period of transition between
gold mining and the
fortification of San Juan in the military development of the island as a defensive and maritime stopover between
Spain and the
Spanish Main. The two main crops of the area at the time were sugarcane and
ginger, which complemented the cattle raising industry for the purpose of meat and leather. By 1647, the sugar industry was the main agricultural activity of the
region of San Juan with the Toa Valley being one of the prime sugarcane production centers along with
Bayamón and
Loíza. Hacienda Santa Elena was founded in the 18th century, during a time when the sugar production industry was booming after period of industrialization that saw the development of sugar mills and refineries (
centrales azucareras) in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. This was despite the passive and limited distribution of resources towards the development of agriculture by the
Spanish Empire as the priority at the time was the control of Puerto Rico as a military defensive stronghold. The establishment of the
Bourbon dynasty rule of Spain however brought a rapid diversification in the economic activities and industries in the Spanish colonies inspired by newly integrated ideas from the
Enlightenment movement. This resulted in land reforms, spearheaded in the island by figures such as
Alejandro O'Reilly, that were quickly established in the Spanish colonial cities of the Americas and allowed for the establishment of plantations such as Hacienda Santa Elena in 1778 which, at the time, was located within the city limits of San Juan. At this time, the agricultural activities of the plantation included the cultivation of corn, tobacco, cotton, coffee, cocoa and plantains. Toa Baja quickly became one of the main crop producers in the island, becoming the second in commercial sugar production and fourth in the production of
molasses. The industrial production of
rum was also established as a result and, in 1782, an
hacendado stated that the best rum in the island was produced here. Further development of Santa Elena came in the form of industrial advancements in 1790 when it came under the ownership of Juan Rijus Teduchi, an engineer originating in the then French colony of
Saint-Domingue who built the refinery and mill system, considered the most modern in Puerto Rico at the time. The property of Santa Elena was sold to a man named Dr. Figueras during the 1820s who introduced
steam technology and oversaw a process of modernization that lasted between until the 1830s, making Santa Elena one of the first agricultural sites to be mechanized in the island. In 1890, Hacienda Santa Elena was then sold to Jaime Fonalledas Garriga, a recent immigrant from Catalonia, who became its last owner. == Architecture ==