CubaPLUS Magazine

In the beautiful province of Mayabeque, close to the Cuban capital, are the beautiful Hershey Gardens, also very close to the town of Santa Cruz del Norte and in the secluded community also named Hershey, a name with a Saxon sound imposed on a site of quirky charm in the Cuban rural environment.

Well yes, it is a small enclave, but still very picturesque and charming, so many years after its emergence. Originated from the creation in the aforementioned place of a sugar mill also named Hershey, in honor of its owner, a foreigner: Mr. Milton Hershey. As it became customary in Cuba, especially from the beginning of the 20th century, although in the 19th century there were already American owners and large estates on their properties, along with haciendas belonging to national oligarchs, around the mills, cornerstones of the economy.

In Cuba, the so-called bateyes were born where administrative employees and workers with a high technical qualifications lived, in a more comfortable section and the poorest in a remote and humble hamlet. Almost all the bateyes of the largest Creole mills began to flourish like that from the 30s, with a marked North American style. But it was natural that Hershey's had accentuated the northern village characteristic, by its owner.

They were built under the advice of American technologists and designers, with houses of fine wood, spacious, very beautiful, and comfortable. The Hershey community featured beautiful homes, surrounded by gardens, some with fireplaces, very ventilated, neat, in a style full of beauty. A peculiarity was also the famous Hershey train, which already from that time had an itinerary that made it very well known. Along with the town itself, it is a relic of the past, still spoken of with immense affection.

They say that in 1960 the Central Hershey train became the "Camilo Cienfuegos" of the Cuban Railroad Division. This was the last electric train line in Cuba and it continued unchanged for the next 40 years. A small point and apart from highlighting, the Hershey Gardens deserve, opened in 1984. With a copious forest and varied fauna, they are irrigated by a river, in a kind of meadow that previously served as a pleasant recreational site for the workers of the sugar mill. A flowery, fresh, and beautiful place that will offer the splendor of the tropics and Cuban wildlife.