Just behind the picturesque town of Soufriere, nestled at the foot of the towering Pitons is a place where waterfalls pour from the mouth of a volcano. Welcome to Diamond Botanical Gardens, Waterfall, Mineral Baths, Nature Trail, Old Mill & Waterwheel. This multi-award winning tourism site has a long and rich history that began in 1713, when three Devaux brothers were granted 2000 acres of land by King Louis XIV for services to Crown & Country. The Diamond Botanical Gardens is located in a natural gorge that begins at the volcano's bubbling sulphur springs. The Sulphur Springs from which the town of Soufriere got it's name are weak spots in the crust of an enormous collapsed crater, the result of a volcanic upheaval of gigantic proportions that took place some 40,000 years ago. Similar underground hot springs to this day feed the historical mineral baths here in Diamond Botanical Gardens. They were built originally in 1784 so that the troops of King Louis XVI of France could take advantage of the baths therapeutic powers.
In 1784, the Baron de Laborie, who was at the time Governor of St. Lucia, sent samples of the mineral water to Paris to be analyzed by the "Medicine du Roi". These waters were found to have the same properties as the famous French baths at Aix-les-Bains and the equally famous Aix-la-Chapelle or Aachen in Germany. Bathing in these waters have always been recommended for persons who suffer from chronic rheumatism, respiratory complaints or ulcers. An opinion supported by John Davy, M.D., the Inspector General of military hospitals in the West Indies. Dr. Davy did a more detailed analysis in 1854 elaborating on the mineral content of these "healing" waters.
The King was sufficiently impressed & allocated the necessary funds to have a stone building containing 12 stone baths erected. The baths were put to good use for several years but during the Brigands war that followed on the heals of the French Revolution, the bath house like so many other buildings was destroyed. The baths stayed in a state of ruin until Andre' duBoulay owner of Diamond Estate restored them for his private use and later with further restoration and the addition of modern bathroom facilities these baths were made available to the for a small fee.
Diamond Botanical Gardens is six acres of planted gardens including Diamond Falls. 
The Diamond River comes straight from the Sulphur Springs, black from volcanic mud and spilling over the rock face staining the stone wall with the many colors left behind by the minerals finally dropping into the calm pond below.
In 1983, Mrs. Joan Devaux, daughter of Mr. Andre' duBoulay took over the management of the Estate. Seeing the tourism potential for this beautiful area she began planting the gardens that you enjoy today. Throughout the years Mrs. Devaux has continued the development and restoration of this beautiful estate including the "nature trail" that now connects and expands this site to include Soufriere Estate's restored sugar mill with its huge waterwheel still turning. The nature trail leaves the gardens and follows the old ridge trail that was once used to collect the harvested coconuts being brought to the estate's copra ovens. Listen carefully for the sounds of the St. Lucian Orioles, Hawks, Doves and other birds that call this peaceful forest of second growth Red Cedar and Mahogany home. 
At the trails end you will come to the Old Mill & Waterwheel, built in 1765, which was originally used to crush sugar cane. Later, after the devastation of the sugar industry the estate went into "lime oil" production. Inside the Old Mill you can still see the wooden vats that were used to ship the lime oil to Europe. The waterwheel continued working crushing limes and then generated the very first electricity to the village of Soufriere. Each little house had two light bulbs and the price for electricity was 1 shilling a month. The first commercial electricity was hydroelectric and the water to power the hydro plant was supplied through the aqua duct that brings the water from the Soufriere River through Soufriere Estate. The river and aqua duct still supplies water to the waterwheel today and can be seen at the Old Mill.
