St. James, Jamaica
ST. JAMES
Population: 175, 127
HISTORY
St. James was one of the second group of parishes formed in Jamaica and is said to have been named by Sir Thomas Modyford in 1665, for the Duke of York who later became King James II. Located in this parish is “Mellila” the site of the first town built by the Spaniards in Jamaica. It is believed that the first Jamaican migrant set sail with Columbus from “El Cabo de Buen Tiempo” (Montego Bay’s original name), for life in the “Old World”. Along the coastal area of St. James, remains of Jamaica’s original inhabitants, the Tainos, have been located. They are referred to as the “Fairfield People” in honour of a site near Montego Bay where characteristic examples of their pottery have been found.
In 1795, the Parish was turned upside down by the Maroons in the interior who took up arms again after decades of peace. Montego Bay became the headquarters of the governor, the Earl of Balcarres, who came to personally direct operations against them, and it was from here that the Trelawny Maroons were put aboard ships in the harbour that eventually sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Montego Bay also witnessed the final act of the last slave uprising. The ‘Christmas Rebellion’ of 1831-1832 that engulfed the western parishes. Under martial law the slaves were tried in the courthouse and over 300 of them were hanged at the Parade, now called SAMUEL SHARPE SQUARE where there is a memorial to the leader Samuel Sharpe. (Senior, Olive)
MONTEGO BAY
The name of the most urban town in St. James has varying stories surrounding its origin. Christopher Columbus named the bay there, “El Cabo de Buen Tiempo” or “Fairweather Gulf”. The name “Montego” was derived from the Spanish word “Manteca”, meaning lard or butter. An early map of Jamaica has the Montego Bay area listed as “Bahia de Manteca” or “Lard Bay”. This region was densely populated with wild hogs which the Spanish are said to have slaughtered in large numbers, in order to collect lard for export to Cartagena.
MONUMENTS AND HISTORIC BUILDINGS
The Cage
Built in 1806 as a wooden jail for runaway slaves, unruly seamen and other vagrants, the “Cage” is now used as a Tourist Information Centre and a small Museum.
Rose Hall Great House
This most famous of Jamaican Great Houses became notorious when Annie Mary Patterson, a Haitian, married its owner John Rose Palmer, and came to live there. It is said that she practiced voodoo and popular legend holds that she murdered all three of her husbands and was in turn mysteriously strangled.
The Rose Hall Great House has been restored to its 18th century grandeur. It was opened to the public on February 26, 1971.
St. James Parish Church
One of the most impressive churches in the island, this Parish Church was constructed in 1872. It is built in the shape of a Greek cross, with the bell tower located at the western end. Seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1952, the James Parish Church has since been completely restored. Excellent monuments of Sir Richard Westcott and Henry Westcott, done by the renowned sculptor John Bacon, are located here.
Old Slave Ring-Cotton Tree Lodge
A semi-circular structure which closely resembles an arena, prospective buyers came here to view slaves who were on parade. Located on the grounds of the Rerrie’s House in Montego Bay, the Ring is said to have belonged to a “Morishe” or slave leader.
The Creek Dome
The story of this creek goes back to the Spanish era when two little girls (one a free Spaniard and one a slave) in pursuit of a crab that had disappeared under a stone, discovered an underground stream of water. The stream was named “El Rio de Camarones” – the River of the Crabs. Montego Bay’s sole source of drinking water for many decades, the Creek was eventually dammed and harnessed. An oval-shaped building about 20 feet (6.1m) high and 10 feet (3.0m) wide was erected over the stream to protect the water which rose to the surface of the road and flowed towards the area.
Popularly called “the Dome”, this structure served its purpose well until 1957, when an earthquake shifted the floor of the creek flowing under the Dome thus changing the course of flow. There is now no water at the bottom of the Dome. It stands as an historic monument, reminiscent of the period of the Spanish occupancy of Jamaica.
Sources
Jamaica Information Service, St. James. Kingston: Jamaica Information Service, (Parish Profiles), 1991.
Map of Jamaica, 1895
Senior, Olive, Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage. St. Andrew, Jamaica: Twin Guinep Publishers Ltd., 2003
