PARISH INFORMATION |
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 GENERAL
POSITION/SIZE/DESCRIPTION St Elizabeth is in the south-western section of the island. It has an area of 1212.4 square kilometres (468.1 square miles). There are three mountain ranges - the Nassau Mountains to the north-east, the Santa Cruz Mountains which, running south, divide the wide plain to end in a precipitous drop of 1600 feet at Lovers' Leap, and the Lacovia Mountains to the west of the Nassau Mountains. The Black River is the main river supported by many tributaries including Y.S., Broad, Grass and Horse Savannah. It is the longest river in Jamaica {53.4 kilometres (33 0 miles)} and it is navigable for about 40 kilometres (25 miles). It has its source in the mountains of Manchester near Coleyville where it rises and flows west as the boundary between Manchester and Trelawny then goes underground near Troy. It reappears briefly near Oxford and goes underground again for several miles to reemerge near Balaclava and tumbles down gorges to the plain known as the Savannah, through the Great Morass and to the sea at Black River, the capital of the parish. Because of the limestone formation there are 44 caves in the parish. They include Mexico, the longest in the island. Yardley Chase Caves near the foot of Lovers' Leap, Wallingford Caves near Balaclava, famous for the fossil remains of large extinct rodents and Peru Cave near Goshen which has impressive stalactites and stalagmites. Preservation areas and wetland sites include:
Much of the land in the parish is dry grassland called savannahs, marsh and swamp, forests and scrub woodlands. The land is used mainly for agriculture and the farmers here who produce a variety of crops are noted for their skilful farm practices. Earlier the land was used to grow sugar cane and for pasture. It still has one sugar factory on Appleton Estate which is noted for its fine blends of rum. To the north of Appleton lies the Cockpit Country which crosses into Trelawny. Mineral deposits include bauxite, antimony, white limestone, clay, peat and silica sand which is used to manufacture glass. BRIEF HISTORY It is believed the parish was named after the wife of Sir Thomas Modyford, the first English Governor of Jamaica. It originally included most of the south-west part of the island but in 1703 Westmoreland was taken from it and in 1814 a part of Manchester. The Tainos/Arawaks also lived in this part of the island. There is evidence of their occupation in the cave at Pedro Bluff. When the Spaniards came they established ranches on the savannahs. The walls and wells they left are reminders of their presence. When the English settled on the island after its capture from the Spanish in 1655, they concentrated on planting sugar cane but the ranches had been so well developed that the tradition continued. In some places buildings with 'Spanish wall' (masonry of limestone sand and stone between wooden frames) can still be seen. St Elizabeth became a prosperous parish and Black River an important seaport. In addition to shipping sugar and molasses Black River became the centre of the logging trade. Large quantities of logwood were exported to Europe to make a Prussian-blue dye which was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Synthetic dyes have now replaced natural dyes so although there are still large quantities of logwood growing wild in some areas there is no longer any demand for it. Today, however, it still supports the honey industry as honey made from logwood blossoms is very popular. Because of its prosperity electric power was first introduced in Jamaica in a house called Waterloo in Black River in 1893. In 1903 the first motor car to come to Jamaica was imported by the owner of Waterloo. In those days the town had a horse-racing track, a gambling house and a mineral spa for the well-to-do at the west end of the town. St Elizabeth probably has the greatest racial mixture in Jamaica. When the Miskito Indians came from Central America to help track the Maroons in the 18th century they were given land grants in this parish. In the 18th century too, Loyalists from the Carolinas settled in the Great Morass and attempted to grow rice. In the 19th century Scots and Germans migrated to the parish and this accounts for pockets of distinct racial mixtures in the parish. However, in the 20th century there was steady emigration from St Elizabeth and other parts of Jamaica to Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Cuba to work on railway construction and banana plantations. With the closure of the port in Black River in 1968 the parish could have become a backwater had bauxite not been discovered. More recently efforts are being made to develop a different kind of tourism in which the community is more involved and which can show off the many ecological features of the parish. The parish lends itself to this kind of development and the annual St Bess Homecoming is enticing its sons and daughters to invest there. In addition to a strong farming base, craft is also being revived and the future looks promising. Munro College for boys and Hampton School for girls were established by the Munro and Dickenson Trust in1856 and 1858 respectively. Several secondary schools have been built in the last 50 years. POPULATION: 148,900 (1999) CAPITAL: Black River MAJOR TOWNS: Santa Cruz, Malvern, Junction, Balaclava MAJOR INDUSTRIES/SOURCES OF EMPLOYMENT Sugar: This is one of the oldest industries in the parish. The
one remaining factory is the Appleton Estate which has given its name to
the fine blends of rum it produces.
MAJOR HISTORICAL/CULTURAL/RECREATIONAL/ECOLOGICAL SITES The Great Morass: This is the island's largest wetland which has an area of 125 square miles. The lower morass extends from the Black River to Lacovia and the upper morass is above Lacovia. It is a complex eco-system and a preserve for more than 100 bird species. It is a refuge for about 300 crocodiles. Fed by the Black River the morass has plenty of crayfish and fish including the God-a-me that can live out of water in mud and moist leaf litter. Sometimes a manatee can be seen near the river estuary. The morass provides a livelihood for the 'shrimp' sellers at Middle Quarters. There is now evidence of pollution and the Black River and Great Morass Environmental Defence Fund is attempting to have the area declared a national park. YS Falls: These falls are considered by many to be Jamaica's most spectacular waterfalls. Eight cascades separated by pools ideal for swimming fall for120 feet. Limestone cliffs and towering lush vegetation enhance the scene. It is on private property but is open to the public for a fee. There is a picnic ground and transportation to the falls. The estate raises racehorses and Jamaica Red cattle Bamboo Avenue: This two and a half mile 'avenue' of bamboos on the main road between Lacovia and Middle Quarters was planted by the owners of Holland Estate in the 17th century to provide shade in the heat of the savannah. A former owner was John Gladstone, father of the famous British prime minister. It was a sugar estate and the factory has only recently been closed. Although battered by hurricanes and the occasional fires it is still attractive. It is maintained by the staff of the Hope Botanical Gardens in Kingston. Font Hill Wildlife Sanctuary: The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica owns this 3150 acre wildlife reserve. It has two miles of coastline. Scrubby acacia and logwood thickets cover much of the area. Near to the coastline are interconnected lagoons and swamps. It is a haven for birds. Eight endemic species can be seen there including the pea dove, the white-bellied dove and the ground dove, the smallest dove in the world. It used to be a cattle ranch earlier. St John's Parish Church: Although a tablet on the tower notes the laying of a foundation stone in 1837 it is believed that this yellow brick church is much older. The church has a pair of monuments erected in 1828 to the memory of Robert Hugh Munro and his nephew Caleb Dickenson. Munro bequeathed his estate in trust to his nephew and the church wardens and their successors to form a free school for the poor children of the parish. This bequest formed the Munro and Dickenson Trust which opened the Munro and Dickenson Free School in Black River in 1856, fifty-nine years after Munro's death and eventually Munro School for boys and Hampton School for girls, the oldest public educational institutions in the parish. The tombstones outside the west entrance are for Duncan Hook (1741 -1779) and his four children by a 'free mulatto' who lies beside him. He had to have a special act of Assembly passed to give his mistress and their children the same legal status as white people. Without it they could not have been buried in the churchyard. Lacovia Tombstones: At the junction of the Lacovia main road and one of the roads to Maggoty lies two tombstones. On one is a large marble slab with the inscription "To Thomas Jordan Spencer". The other is unmarked. The story goes that a duel at a nearby tavern resulted in the death of both men. The engraved coat of arms has been traced to Spencer of Anthrop, an ancestor of the late Sir Winston Spencer Churchill of World War 2 fame. Appleton Estate: Tucked in the Siloah Valley between the Nassau Mountains and the Cockpit Country lies Jamaica's oldest rum distillery on the Appleton Estate. The rums bear the estate's name and have been produced there since 1749. The estate is now owned by J.Wray & Nephew, Jamaica's largest producers of rum. Pondside Lake: This is the largest fresh water lake in the island situated about six miles from Black River on the road to Mountainside. It is officially known as the Wally Eash Pond. According to legend this pond was once a district which, like the Yallahs Ponds in St Thomas, mysteriously disappeared leaving a pond in its place. A man and his dog left the district at night and as he was returning to the spot where the house should be he stepped into water. The district had sunken while he was away and he was the only one saved Accompong: Situated on the south side of the Cockpit Country, Accompong is the only remaining village in western Jamaica inhabited by the descendants of the Maroons. It was reputedly named after the brother of the great Maroon leader Cudjoe, and it was a common name among the Akan speaking tribes of West Africa. The settlement was formed after the treaty between the Maroons and the English in 1739. When the second war with the English broke out in 1795, the Accompong Maroons remained neutral and were left untroubled at the end of the war when all the other Maroon settlements were destroyed. On the 6thof January each year a traditional ceremony is held to commemorate the signing of the treaty with the English in 1739 which gave them their freedom. Their head of government is the Colonel who is elected by secret ballot every five years. He is assisted by a council which he appoints. Most of the Maroons have gone to other parts of Jamaica to live but they are still proud of their African heritage. |
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