Hacienda Gripinas (Jayuya)

Don Eusebio Pérez del Castillo established Hacienda Gripiñas in 1858, building what became the model coffee estate of Puerto Rico's highland economy. The Spanish-American War and Hurricane San Ciriaco unraveled that world by 1899. Later ownership expanded the estate to roughly 1,000 cuerdas; in 1904 its coffee won a Grand Prix at the St. Louis World's Fair. The Puerto Rican government eventually acquired the land, and in 1975 converted the original main house into the Parador Hacienda Gripiñas — still operating today under the municipal government of Jayuya.