Frome (then spelled Froome) was already a water powered sugar mill belonging to Thomas Storer Esq. in 1763.  Before it closed down, It was the largest sugar mill in Jamaica.

On May 22, 1937 the West Indies Sugar Co. Ltd. (WISCo) was founded as a subsidiary of British sugar refiner Tate & Lyle with a capital of £600,000.  ​That same month WISCo purchased several plantations formerly owned by James Charley, John Charley and the Morris family in the Frome area.  The purchase included sufficient acreage but the sugar factories were old and small.  It was decided to build a new central sugar mill in Frome to replace the seven small sugar factories, construction of the new sugar mill was finished in time for the 1939 milling season. Additions were made in 1954  increasing milling capacity to 120,000 tons and again in 1957 doubling its milling capacity.  Production was increased from 21,900 mt in 1938 to 106,000 mt in 1965.  Under WISCo management, Frome had higher productivity than the average of the trade.  

Notwithstanding its earlier performance, due to heavy losses, in 1971 Frome was acquired by the Government's National Sugar Co.​ for $8.4 million together with Monymusk and Bernard Lodge sugar mills.  As part of the transaction, Tate & Lyle retained management of the sugar mill under a management agreement.  In 1982 the Government owned Jamaica Sugar Holdings was created to acquire the 8 sugar mills owned by the Government under the National Sugar Co. one of which was Frome.  This time management was awarded to the Booker Tate Group, a firm affiliated with Tate & Lyle.

Booker Tate Group closed 3 of the sugar mills acquired and the remaining 5 continued to operate under their management.  In 1994 due to heavy losses accumulated by Jamaica Sugar Holdings, the Government sold three of the factories it operated Frome as well as Monymusk and Bernard Lodge for J$1.36 billion to The Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ).  SCJ was a consortium of Manufacturers Merchant Bank, J Wray & Nephew Co. Ltd. and Booker Tate Group, each with a 17% interest and the Government retaining 49%.  The three private partners did not provide the capital needed to keep the sugar factories in operation and returned their 51% back to the Government in October 1998 for J$1.00.  

Again as the result of heavy accumulated losses, the Government underwnt another divestment process in 2009.  In 2011 Frome, together with Monymusk and Bernard Lodge were awarded to Pan Caribbean Sugar Co., the subsidiary of Chinese-based Hua Lien International Holding Co. Ltd. that operates six sugar mills in Africa.  ​​

With a production capacity of 90,000 mt, the most recent production figures available show Frome producing a mere 20,500 and 23,300 mt for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 milling seasons respectively.  Pan Caribbean Sugar Co., ceased to operate Monymusk and returned it to the Government after the 2018 crop year.