Location: Adjuntas
Date Established: 1910
Date Ceased Operations: 1949
Annual Production Graph
Average Annual Production: 1,962 Tons
Best Production Year: 1949/7,800 Tons
Family Ownership: Valdivieso

 It has been reported that Central Pellejas was established in 1907, however, the Louisiana Planter and Sugar Manufacturer edition of May 28, 1910 states that "A new corporation entitled The Pellejas Sugar and Coffee Co. has been constituted in Ponce, with local capitalization and dedicated to the cultivation of cane and coffee in the Adjuntas district."  The publication Correspondencia de Puerto Rico in its edition of May 25, 1910 states that The Pellejas Sugar & Coffee Co. had just been incorporated with a capital of $180,000. 

At inception, its Board of Directors was comprised of José Lacot Martinez (1867- ), President; Corsican immigrant Javier Mariani Palmieri, Vicepresident; Mr. Morales Lebrón, Secretary; Fernando Luis Toro Vendrell (1883- ), Treasurer and Messrs. Sanchez, Clavell and Guillermo Cortada Torruella (1866- ), Vocals.  The article in  the Correspondencia de Puerto Rico also states that "...in addition to three hundred and fifty cuerdas planted with coffee trees, it had available one thousand two hundred cuerdas of its own to cultivate sugarcane that will produce about 45,000 sacks of raw sugar.  Three important tracts of land were acquired from Messrs. Mariani, Sanchez & Caballero who are shareholders of the new venture."

The majority owner and promoter of the enterprise would be Lucas P. Valdivieso Torruella (1863-1931) of Ponce to whom the organization and development of the enterprise is commonly attributed.  The Valdivieso family were large landowners in the Ponce-Peñuelas area and were one of the largest colonos of Central Mercedita.  After his death in 1931, operations were carried on by his heirs under the name Sucn. Lucas P. Valdivieso.

The machinery for the sugar mill was acquired abroad and installed in time for the 1911-1912 grinding season which is the first one for which there are production numbers available.  Based on annual production, Pellejas was one of the smallest sugar mills on the island due to the rugged terrain surrounding it and the limited area suitable for growing sugarcane up in the mountains.  It is one of the few sugar mills established in a valley up in the mountain range where land is more suited for growing coffee and tobacco than sugar.  

Its muscovado sugar production was sold locally and any excess was transported to Ponce to be refined at Central Mercedita where as stated the Valdivieso's were one of the major colonos.  Molasses produced by Central Pellejas were used in the distilling of Pellejas Rum sold throughout Puerto Rico as early as 1907.  After its closure in 1949, in 1952 its machinery was sold to Tomazeau Sugar Mill in Haiti.  On January 20, 2016 the PR Economic Development Bank acquired 1,371 cuerdas formerly used by the Valdivieso's as pastures and to grow sugarcane and other agricultural products.  The property was subsequently sold to the PR Conservation Trust who currently owns the property. 

The film Flight of Fancy starring Dean Cain was filmed at the remains of this sugar mill in 2000,  The "El Coqui" lettering on one of the pictures was added to identify a bar in the movie.  The picture of the town of Adjuntas was taken from nearby where the remains of this sugar mill are located, the mountainous terrain mentioned above can be clearly appreciated in this photo.