NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022 11 PAUL H. WILLIAMS Gleaner Writer F OUNDED BETWEEN about 1664 and 1665, St James, one of the earliest parishes, was named after James, the Duke of York. The research revealed that it was Thomas Modyford, governor from 1664-73, who first divided the island into parishes, a series of church enclaves. In 1770 a new parish called Trelawny emerged from eastern St James, thus reducing its original size. This northwestern parish spent its initial years in abject poverty. And, so was the case with the other north coast parishes. Their distance from the administrative capitals of Spanish Town and Kingston did not help. Eventually, the economy of the parish began to boom from the export of sugar, and other produce, such as lard from the abundance of wild pigs in the region. Montego Bay, its capital, became an important shipping port, and its economy was second in importance only to Kingston’s. After sugar was no longer king, the economies of the parish and the region were driven by the cultivation and export of bananas. Until today eastern St James is full of districts where banana is the major cash crop. Yet, Banana too was to be toppled from the number-one spot. It gave that space to tourism, as we know it, when a local doctor, Alexander McCatty, bought the property now known as Doctor’s Cave Beach in the late 1800s. He believed the water had strong curative properties, and, as such, rich north Americans started to visit the area to heal themselves, and to build residences. At the beginning of the 1900s, Dr McCatty donated the property to the town of Montego Bay. Hotels, to which people fleeing the brutal North American winter were accommodated, were now being constructed. Casa Blanca is said to be the first of such hotels. Now, Montego Bay is the tourist Mecca of not only Jamaica, but the region. Over time, St James, one of the smallest parishes in country, has evolved into one of Jamaica’s most populous. The home of Cornwall Regional Hospital is an education, transport, commercial and employment hub for all of western Jamaica. Traffic into and out of the parish is massive, creating a variety of challenges, to the point where a highway to bypass downtown Montego Bay is under now construction. The history and heritage of St James are rich, and from east to west, north to south there is evidence of this richness. Some of the points of interest are Belvedere Estate, Blue Hole Plantation, Great River Rafting, Mountain Valley Rafting, Nature FarmVillage, Rocklands Bird Sanctuary, The Creek Dome, and the Sam Sharpe Monument, Doctor’s Cave Beach, Cornwall College, the Rastafari Indigenous Village, Barnett Bridge, Pyre River Cemetery, Charles Gordon Market, River Bay Fishing Village, among others. Historical spots include, but not limited to, The Cage in Sam Sharpe Square, Sign Great House, Greenwood Great House, Anchovy Railway Station, Barnett Street Police Station, Cambridge Railway Station, Catadupa Railway Station, Grove Hill House, Flagstaff Maroon village, MaroonTown, Fort Montego, Goodwill free village, Rose Hall Great House, Salter’s Hill Baptist Church, St James Parish Church, Montego Bay Railway Station, and the Town House. Now, how much do you know about the parish of St James? Answer the following questions to find out. 1. When is the estimated size of St James? 2. What was the original name of Montego Bay? 3. Which governor general was born in St James? 4. What is the name of the market in Montego Bay? 5. When was Cornwall College founded? 6. Name the two all-girls schools in St James? 7. When was the St James Parish Church originally built? 8. Where is the Sam Sharpe Monument located? 9. When was Montego Bay officially declare a city? 10. Which is the only technical school in St James? 11. Which parishes surround St James? 12. Which National Hero was born in St James? 13. What is the alias for Montego Bay? 14. What is the main style of architecture in Sam Sharpe Square? 15. When did the Christmas Rebellion start? 16. On which estate did the Christmas Rebellion Start? 17. Where in St James is a famous Taino/Arawak site located? 18. Which one of the following towns is not located in St James: Maroon Town, Catadupa, Lambs River and Garlands? 19. Name the sugar estate that was located in Montego Bay. 20. Name the river that borders St James with Hanover. ANSWERS 1. 594.9 km square 2. Bahia de Manteca 3. Howard Cooke 4. Charles Gordon 5. 1896 6. Mount Alvernia High and Montego Bay High. 7. Between 1775 and 1782 8. Sam Sharpe Square 9. May 1, 1981 10. Herbert Morrison 11. Westmoreland, Hanover, St Elizabeth and Trelawny 12. Sam Sharpe 13. The Friendly City or The Second City 14. Georgian 15. December 1831 16. Kensington 17. Fairfield 18. Lambs River 19. Barnett Estate 20. Great River jamaica AT St James trivia JAMAIC AT 60: MONTEGO BAY
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