In 1793 the Cold Spring property was described as :
“well-stocked with choice selections of introduced flowers and European trees and shrubs”,

Later accounts of 1850 state :
“…Cold Spring Coffee Field …is said to produce the finest coffee that is taken into Liverpool where it commands 140/-per cwt…”

The Cold Spring Estate was established in 1746 as a coffee plantation by Irish Admiral, Matthew Wallen. In 1788 Wallen built a mansion and designed a beautiful garden into which he introduced several exotic fruit trees and oriental plants. In 1776, William Hickey recalled the beautiful clear and cold spring on the estate supplying the Wallen family with the best water he’d ever tasted.