| Abbeydale road was named from Abbey dale Pen, a property owned from 1811, when estates were first listed.
Admiral Mountain, near Newcastle in-the St. Andrew hills, was the site of the country residence of Lord Nelson when stationed in Jamaica.
Admiral Pen was first known as Admiral’s Pen, as it was used for the accommodation of naval men. It was bought on 13th January, 1773, by the House of Assembly, and famous naval men such as Admiral Horatio, Lord Nelson, who was stationed at Port Royal 1777-1779, resided at Admiral Pen. In 1931 the name was changed to Admiral Town. On a part of this land, ‘The Eventide Home’ for aged men and women has since been established.
August Town, in the hills of St. Andrew, is thought to have been named from the fact that freedom came to the enslaved people of this country on the 1st August,1 838. From that date, this day was designated and celebrated as ‘Emancipation Day’ for many years. August Town became notable because at this place a prophet, whose name was Bedward, arose the proponent of religion which became known as ‘Bedwardism’. He had thousands of followers, but outdid himself when he proclaimed that he was God and could fly. He set a date for his flight, and when it did not occur his people lost faith in him. Bedward had folk songs written about him. The verse of one is as follows: “Dip him Bedward, dip him. Dip him in the healing stream. Dip him deep, but don’t dip him too deep. Dip him Bedward, dip him”.
Another song goes in part: “Run mongoose, you name gone abroad, Mongoose go into Bedward kitchen, eat out all of him righteous chicken, run mongoose”.
Barbican, St. Andrew, was first known as Barbican Penn, and the residence as Barbican Great House. This plantation was settled, shortly after the English occupation of the island, by two brothers, George and Henry Bennett. George had been a soldier in the invading army of Penn and Venables in 1655. The Bennett’s came from Dorset, England. George became a Member of the Assembly in Kingston and Colonel of the Militia, as did his son and grandson. Barbican Penn consisted of approximately 1,600 acres, and at that time extended from the sea coast in one direction, and in the other as far as Jack’s Hill, and down the Maryland Valley. It was bounded on one side by Hope Estate, and on the other by Cherry Gardens. It is not known what use these brothers made of it, nor is there a record of the dates of their deaths, but several members of the family were buried in the Half-way-Tree Cemetery.
One monumental inscription states: Here lieth the body of Mr. George Bennett who came as a soldier under Penn and Venables, the 10th of May Anno Domini 1665 and was one of the first settlers. Subsequent owners were Charles Chaplin in 1723 and John Houston in 1757. In 1843, the owner of Barbican is listed as John Gordon, brother or near relative of Joseph Gordon, who owned the adjoining property of Cherry Gardens. In 1870, it belonged to the Sawyers family, who were evidently absentee owners, as the property was managed by Mick Morgan. BARBICAN by this time had become a cattle property and had a contract to supply beef to the soldiers of the British regiments stationed at Newcastle. As Barbican was unable to supply the quantity required, cattle for butchering was purchased on behalf of Barbican from Alexander Woodburn Heron, who owned half of Manchester at that time, and in due course Heron came into possession of the property.
In 1883, the Barbican Great House was rented from Heron to house what was first called ‘The Jamaica High School’, afterwards Jamaica College. When Heron’s youngest daughter was to be married to Philip Cork, then Protector of Immigrants and afterwards Colonial Secretary, Heron gave her the choice between Barbican and one of his Manchester properties as a wedding gift, and she chose Barbican. At that time it consisted of about 930 acres and was divided into areas known as Somerset and the Bluff. After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Cork, their daughter sold Barbican to a syndicate, and it is now a residential suburb of St. Andrew.
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The place-name Barbican is shared by a sugar estate in Hanover. Early owners were George and Catherine Kayerman, and a subsequent owner was a Frederick Topper. Until 1902 Topper used the old method of grinding sugar cane by a windmill.
Barnes Gully, St. Andrew, was named after Major Joseph Barnes, Custos of St. Andrew and Member of the Assembly. He died in 1829.
Blake Road, St. Andrew, is named after Sir Henry Blake, Governor of Jamaica, and 1889-98. He specialized in the building of roads, and it was during his administration that the road to Newcastle was begun; it was finished during Sir Charles Metcalfe’s governorship.
Cargill Avenue, in lower St. Andrew, is named after the late Sydney Raynes Cargill. It was at first the driveway to Cargill’s private residence, known as ‘Monaltrie’, one large holding of some hundreds of acres. On this holding also was the house called ‘Haining’ owned by Jasper Cargill. Jasper Cargill was the founder of the Liguanea Club, still functioning in St. Andrew. Castleton Gardens is in St. Andrew. Land was purchased by the government for the Gardens in 1857.
Cherry Gardens at the foot of hills north of Kingston, was owned in the 19th century by Mr. Joseph Gordon of Scotland, who had come to Jamaica as attorney for a number of absentee-owned sugar estates, and later purchased several of them. It is historically interesting that it was at Cherry Gardens that George William Gordon (one of Jamaica’s first agitators for the people’s rights, who has recently been designated a National Hero) was born. He was the illegitimate son of Joseph Gordon and one of his slaves. Cherry Gardens is now owned by Alex Dune, proprietor of Times Store, and is a modern residential area.
Clifton Mount, in the hills of St. Andrew, was owned from 1811 by Robert Hamilton; The Great House was the rendezvous of governors and their wives, and from this House a magnificent view of the Blue Mountain can be seen. Subsequent owners were H.C. Shekell, Mrs. Edward Ornett, Miss King, and Mrs. Mary Gillespie, who purchased it in 1943. The next owner was Colonel Ward, who gave the Ward Theatre in Kingston to the municipality. The present owner, Mr. Listor, an Englishman, has restored the Great House to its eighteenth century form. Clifton Mount can be reached by bridle track from Newcastle.
Clonmel, in St. Mary, originated in Temporary, Ireland. It is a thriving village, and the chief local crop is bananas. Clovelly is in St. Andrew.
Cold Spring is so named because a spring runs through the property. This place was first owned by Matthew Wallen, an eminent botanist, and a native of Ireland, who came to this island in 1747 as a Naval Officer, after service in Gibraltar. He built a mansion at Cold Spring, and developed a beautiful garden, into which he introduced many English flowers. Matthew Wallen became Member of the Assembly for Port Royal in 1754, and served from then until 1796 in eight Assemblies. It is said that he died at Cold Spring in January, 1797.
Constant Spring in St. Andrew, some claim, was first known as “Constant Springs”, because at that time it abounded in springs.
Craigton, in the St. Andrew hills and on the road to Newcastle, owned from 1811 by George Craigton, bears his surname. It was first known as “Craigton Hall”. Between 1842 and 1846, it was the country residence of the Earl of Elgin, Governor of Jamaica at that time. Sometimes called Craig Town.
Dallas Castle currently known as Dallas, is named after the Dallas family from the state of Alabama, U.S.A., one of whom, R.C. Dallas, wrote The History of the Maroons (1803). There is now Dallas Town, as well as Dallas Mountain (3,107 feet high), where coffee is grown.
Delacree Road is named after a “pen” owned by Captain Edward Delacree, who came out with the English Army of Penn and Venables (1655). In those early days, properties were referred to as “pens” and the whole area of what is now known as St. Andrew, as also the greater part of Kingston, were divided into these “pens”, in which cattle and horses were reared. This road adjoined the pen.
Devon House (old Great House), St. Andrew, was built in 1881 by the late George Stiebel, Jamaican, variously shipwright, architect, merchant, gold miner and Custos of St. Andrew. This house has been recently restored and refurnished by the National Trust Commission of Jamaica and is now owned by the Government of Jamaica. It is a place of historical interest.
East Race Course and West Race Course, areas in lower St. Andrew, are so named because they were once in the vicinity of a racecourse. The racecourse for which these streets were named came into existence in 1 804, and was then privately owned, it is claimed, by Captain Nathaniel Foy and Lieutenant-Colonel Spencer C. Parry, and was known as Montgomery Pen. In 1808, the land was acquired by the Corporation of Kingston. The racetrack, which was in use for about a century, is now known as National Heroes Park and monuments to Jamaica’s heroes are found there.
Ellesmere Road, St. Andrew, near Half-Way-Tree, was named after “Ellesmere House”. Ellesmere is an English place-name.
Gordon Town, in the hills of St. Andrew, 1,200 feet high, and 9 miles from Kingston, is said to be named after the Honourable Joseph Gordon, who later became Member of the House of Assembly for Kingston in 1845. There is also Gordon Town Post Office.
Gore Terrace, in the parish of St. Andrew, is named in memory of the late James F. Gore, businessman, builder, and Director of Gore Bros. Ltd. Gore was a pioneer in many projects in Jamaica, and it is interesting to note that the first three-storied building erected in Kingston was built by him in the 1920’s and is ) own as “Gore’s Building”.
Graham Heights, an area of Barbican in the St. Andrew suburbs, is named after the Honourable A. Russell Graham, Custos of St. Andrew, 1961-71.
Grants Pen, in the parish of St. Andrew, could have been named after Sir John Peter Grant, referred to as one of the ablest reforming governors appointed to Jamaica. He served from 1866 to 1874.
Greenrock is in St. Andrew. This name originated in Scotland.
Green Park is now owned by Mr. Ray Fremmer.
Greenwich Hill in the parish of St. Andrew, afterwards referred to as Greenwich, was first owned by Colonel C.S.F. McClaverty, who sold it to the government for a camp for British soldiers. However, the camp has been demolished and Greenwich in the St. Andrew Hills, and off Newcastle Road, is a modern residential area of great charm. There is also a Greenwich in Hanover.
Grove Pen, in the parish of St. Andrew, consisted originally of ten acres of land and a three-storied house, and was owned approximately 1 50 years ago by Mr. John Orrett, a Weishman. Orrett married Frances Livingston and the couple had four sons and four daughters. The sons were named John, William, Edward and Charlie; and the daughters, Julia, Clara, Ada and Agatha. Mr. Sidney R. Cargill, son of the late Dr. Jasper Cargill, and Gertrude Claver, his wife, afterwards acquired Grove Pen. Cargili was Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica, to which he was admitted 1 5th December 1892. (See Who’s Who Jamaica 1919-20.) Cargill married two of John Orrett’s daughters, first Ada then Agatha. On the death of Agatha he married, in turn, two American women. The first, Ethel by christian name, suggested that the Grove Pen house be made into a bungalow; she also suggested that only one acre of the land surrounding the house should be retained and that the remaining portion be cut up into lots and sold. This was done. Cargill named the roads through these plots of land Cargill Avenue and Balmoral Avenue, the latter because he was a Scotsman. The road which ran parallel to the house was named Grove Road.
Grove Road in the parish of St. Andrew was named from an estate known as “The Grove” owned by William
Orrett and inherited by other members of his family. There is also a village in upper St. Andrew, on the Gordon
Town Road, known as “The Grove” and the Anglican Church there bears its name.
Guava Ridge, in the hills of St. Andrew, is probably named from the tropical myrtaceous fruit tree, the guava, which grew there in large quantities.
Hagley Park Road, St. Andrew, was named after Hagley Park Pen.
Half-Way-Tree initially called a Pen is the capital of Kingston and is truly the central point. Hardwar Gap, in the parishes of St. Andrew and Portland (borderline), is named after John Hardwar, Auditor General in 1782. This place is erroneously spelt “Hardware”.
Hope Gardens is a part of the Hope Estate. This section of the Estate was acquired by government in 1913 for the establishment of a botanical garden. Since the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Jamaica in 1953, HOPE GARDENS has been officially renamed the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Huggins Avenue was named after Sir John Huggins, former Governor of Jamaica.
Irish Town, in the hills of St. Andrew below Newcat1e Camp, was originally the site of Irish settlers; hence the name. Now containing only a few private residences and two hotels, it has lost the right to be designated a town.
Jacks Hill, approximately 2,000 feet high, was said to be the highest village site of the Arawaks in the West Indies. A panoramic view of Kingston and the plains can be had from this Hill.
John Wesley Avenue and Wesley Avenue, in Mandeville, Manchester, are named after John Wesley, the founder of the Wesleyan communion of people, now referred to as Methodists. A Methodist church has been established here.
Jones Town, in lower St. Andrew, was built on a part of “Jones Pen”, which was owned by Dr. Everard Penso, D.D.S., who was born in Kingston and educated at Wolmer’s School. He was a member of the Council of Kingston, 1919. At first the town took the original name of “Jones Pen”; afterwards it was changed._.to Jones Town. Lady Huggins Avenue is named after the wife of Sir John Huggins, Lady Molly Huggins. It was through her untiring zeal that The Jamaica Women’s Federation came into existence.
Lady Musgrave Road was named after the wife of Sir Anthony Musgrave, Governor of Jamaica from 1832 to 1834. Lady Musgrave founded “The Lady Musgrave Self-Help Society”, which was the first society of its kind in Jamaica for the encouragement of arts and crafts and their marketing. The “Self-Help” was located at the corner of Duke and Harbour Streets for many years, and provided work for people all over the island. It is now defunct. Lawrence Tavern, in the St. Andrew hills, was the site of a tavern in the early days.
Manley Road, near August Town in St. Andrew, is so named because the late Right Excellency Norman Washington Manley, Q.C., M.M and National Hero, was instrumental in getting the government to make available a piece of land here to squatters when they were being moved from the University lands.
Mannings Hill, in north-western St. Andrew, was named after Edward Manning, a wealthy merchant who represented Kingston in the House of Assembly for many years. There is also Manning’s Hill Road. Mavis Bank is a place-name originating in Scotland. It is a coffee estate and has been owned by the Munn family for many years.
Middleton off the Newcastle road, is named after the first owner, Boswell Middleton Esq., at one time Advocate-General of Jamaica. He died during the cholera epidemic in 1845 and was buried at Spanish Town. Molynes Road took the name of an estate in that locality which was owned by William Molyne in the 17th century.
Mona was first known as “Yeamans”, because in the 17th century it was owned by the Yeaman family. There is nothing to link it to the Spaniards. “Mona” was the Roman name for Anglesey, or the Isle of Man. Mona Estate was originally a part of “Burnett’s Pen”, north of Hope Commons, a section of which took the name of Papine Plantation, and was owned by Colonel Alexander Grant of Banff shire, Scotland.
In 1768, the Honourable John Kenison purchased Mona, with slaves and stock, from Philip Pinnock. He then mortgaged it to Thomas Bond of London, and William Bond of Kingston, and, according to the terms, the property was described as “a plantation and sugar works lately called Yeamans”. Since those early days, Mona Hotel has been built on part of the land. The campus of the University of the West Indies is now on a section of Mona. It was begun in 1948 as a university college affiliated to the University of London, but in 1962 became an independent university conferring its own degrees.
Rosanna Mount, near Flamstead in St. Andrew, is named after Rosanna in Wicklow, Ireland. Seymour Avenue is named after Sir George Seymour, O.B.E. (1934), late Custos of St. Andrew (1940 — 1959), Kt. (1952) and pen keeper.
Shortwood Road (Church and College) is an English place-name. Between 1830 and 1835, Short- wood Estate was purchased from a Mr. Perkins by the Hon. Joseph Gordon, Member of the Assembly for Kingston; it then consisted of 792 acres. In 1837 he gave a part of this land to the Congregational Church for the erection of a church and school, which were opened on January 27th, 1838, and placed in the charge of Rev. William Woolridge. In 1885 another portion of the property was purchased by the government for the establishment of the Shortwood Training College for women teachers. There is also a district in St. James known as Shortwood.
Slipe Road, in lower St. Andrew, is named after a large pen (Slipe Pen) which was owned by John Jennings Drummond and his heirs in the 19th century. Stirling Castle in St. Andrew was named after its first owner, John Stirling.
Strawberry Hill is in St. Andrew. There are two places in this parish which bear this name. The one near Irish Town, which is the site of a hotel, is said to be so named, because it was considered “a show place”such as Hugh Walpole’s “Strawberry Hill” in England is claimed to be. The other Strawberry Hill is a coffee estate once owned by Mr. Robert Stott (of Wales) and Mr. Patrick Trench, but is now owned by the government. It still supplies Blue Mountain coffee to the world market.
Studley Park, in lower St. Andrew, is named after “Stuiley Lodge”, once in that location. The name origin ated in West Yorkshire, England.
Temple Hall is named after Thomas Temple. It was at first a sugar estate, but later became an experimental area for many crops. When Sir Nicholas Laws, Governor of Jamaica, married Temple’s daughter in 1698, Temple Hall is said to have been given as a dowry. It was at Temple Hall that Sir Nicholas Laws, introduced the profitable coffee industry into Jamaica. An experiment was also made at Temple Hall to grow tobacco.
James Hall inherited Temple Hall, and sold it in 1733 to Thomas Howe of St. Catherine. Subsequent owners were (1811) Andrew Lindo, (1831) George Atkinson and (1845) E. Reid. Recent owners have been the Crosswell family, who have owned it for over 100 years. The present house stands on the foundation of the original Great House, but has since been almost entirely redesigned by Mr. R.A. Crosswell.
Turkey Hall And Turkey Hill may be named from the country of Turkey. According to Jamaica Almanacs, it was owned in 1819 by Francis Glenn, and was then referred to as a “Pen”. Modern legal documents say it is a part of Chariton Pen and Poison Pen.
Vale Royal in St. Andrew may be so named because of its avenue of royal palms. The history of Vale Royal is a history of people who gloried in lavish entertainment; it is the history of the charm and dignity of Jamaican Great Houses not so much of their architectual features, but of the excellence of the material, native hard woods like mahogany, which. Have withstood the ravages of time.
Vale Royal in St. Andrew was first known as “Prospect Pen” — whether or not the house was built after the 1692 earthquake “is but a surmise”. The first recorded owner was Sir Simon Taylor, said to be the richest landed proprietor in Jamaica at that period. Taylor was Member of the House of Assembly for Kingston (1763-70) and for St. Thomas-in-the-East (1748-1810), sitting in 11 Assemblies for nearly 30 years. He was Custos of St. Thomas-in-the-East in 1774, Colonel of the Eastern Horse, and Major-General (1786) and Lieutenant-General (1799) of the Militia. He died in 1813, and both himself and his brother were buried at Vale Royal, but when it was sold, his bones were removed to Lyssons, in St. Thomas. Wentworth Bayley Esq., proprietor of St. Mary, was the next owner. He took his bride to Vale Royal in 1813, but by 1814 it was advertised for sale. The next purchaser was Alexander Aikman, who owned it until 1832, when it was sold to Hon. Joseph Gordon of Gordon Town. About 1835 it came into the possession of one Mrs. Emily Jackson. It is said that she “stayed in the finger of ruin from the walls of Vale Royal, and slept her long sleep near them”. Mrs. Emily Jackson left Vale Royal to her son-in-law, Rev. Horace Scotland, who lived there until 1906, then sold it to Ernest Nuttall, son of Archdeacon Nuttall. He was just about to repair it when the earthquake of 1907 made repairs more imperative. In 1924 Nuttall sold Vale Royal to a Dr. Geoghan, and it was during this ownership that a part of the land which formed the mile-long avenue into Vale Royal became public property. Between 1928 and 1929 the Government of Jamaica bought this historic house as the future official residence for Colonial Secretaries. It was used afterwards as the residence of the Prime Minister until Jamaica House was built. Since then Vale Royal has been the official residence of the Minister of Finance. Vinegar Hill known from 1889, originated in Wex ford, Ireland.
Wai Rua is in the St. Andrew hills, above Gordon Town. This name means “place by the river” and aptly describes its location, as it is near the Gordon Town river. The name originated in New Zealand.
Wai Rua was first known as “Garden House”, and was owned by Hinton East, who, in 1777, was Receiver— General of Jamaica. He introduced many plants into Jamaica, which were first grown in his private garden, and then distributed. Among plants introduced were: the cherimoyer, rarely found anywhere else but in those hills; the mulberry tree; the trumpet tree; the weeping willow; panders from South America; and several flowers, including many species of lilies and roses. The mango and the jackfruit, found in a French ship captured by Captain Marshall of H.M.S. “Flora” of Rodney’s squadron, were also first planted here, and various species of mangoes are still found at Wai Rua. On the death of Hinton East, the place was inherited by E.H. East, who offered it to the government as a botanical garden. The government purchased it in 1792, but it was sold in 1810 and the garden passed into private ownership. In time, many of its valuable plants were lost. The present owners gave Garden House the name Wai Rua.
Wareika, in the hills of St. Andrew, may be of Arawak origin. Whitchurch dates back to 1801. The name is found in Hants., England, and in Wales.
White Hall was first known as “Aaron’s Pen” and was owned by Alexander Silvera, who married a Miss Caroline Aarons. It was sold after the earthquake of 1907 to Mr. Egbert DePass, who changed the name to White Hall. Woodford Park, in lower St. Andrew, was named after “Woodford Lodge”, a place-name which could have originated either in England or Gaiway, Ireland.
York Park, in lower St. Andrew, is said to be named after the Duke of York, son of George III. Brandon Hill is found in Clarendon and St. Andrew. The name originated in Suffolk, England. Dunsinane in St. Andrew,
Fort Nugent (now demolished) was named after General George Nugent, Governor of Jamaica,1801-6.
Good Morning Corner, near Jacks Hill in the St. Andrew Hills, reminds one of the days in old Jamaica when it was the delight of everyone to greet everyone else passing along the road with a cheery “Good morning”.
Green Hills is 4,380 feet above sea level, beyond Hardware Gap, on Newcastle Road. The first owners of this land were the Misses Eva and Daisy Paine. It is now owned by the Institute of Jamaica, and is a bird-watching station. Hermitages in St. Andrew, one of which is the site of a dam which supplies the corporate area with water.
Holywell Recreation Park, at Hardwar Gap on the Newcastle Road, approximately 18 miles from Kingston, was began in 1962, and has an area of 300 acres. Its elevation is approximately 3,250 ft., and the temperature can drop to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The Park provides thatched huts with tables and benches for lunch parties, entrancing walks along fern-decked banks into the deep forest, and unparalleled views on every side of it, seen between towering eucalyptus and yacca trees, and pine trees of many varieties.
Hope Estate, on the Liguanea Plains, St. Andrew, was listed in 1840 as consisting of 2,239 acres and was the largest estate in this parish, extending as. Far as Kingston Harbour. It is said to have been owned by Major Richard Hope and bears his surname. Hope was not listed among the officers of the invading army (1655), but in 1656 he is known to have been a major in a regiment in the Leeward Islands, and from 1664 to 1670 he became a Member of the House of Assembly.
Hope Estate subsequently came into the possession of Roger Hope Elletson, who became lieutenant-governor (1766-7). The property was in the possession of the Hopes and Elletsons for 100 years. After the death of Roger Hope Elletson, it became, through the marriage of his widow in 1777, the property of James Brydges, Duke of Buckingharn and Chandos. About 1860, some 600 acres, with water rights, were sold to the Kingston Water Works, then were transferred to the government in 1971.
Mamby Park, a residential area off the Constant Spring Road, St. Andrew, was originally a plot of land owned by an African with the surname of Mamby. He was a preacher, and began preaching there; this resulted in the erection of a Baptist Church which was named after him, the Mamby Park area afterwards taking his name.
Maryland in St. Andrew was a coffee property owned in the 19th century by Edward Hyde East (1845) and the Great House on it was known as “Raymond Hall”. Edward Hyde East wrote histories of Jamaica. Maryland is now owned by the Doyen Fitchet family.
Mount Atlas, in the Red Hills, is a site of old ruins. Russell Heights, in Barbican, a suburb of St. Andrew, is named after Russell Graham, Custos of St. Andrew.
Stony Hill is in St. Andrew. An early spelling of this name was “Stoney Hill”, and the suggestion is that it was named after an old house in Edinburgh, Scotland, known as ‘,Stoney Hill”, dating from 1779. At Stony Hill in Jamaica there used to be an old military barracks. In 1844, as the barracks was unoccupied, the government converted it into an industrial school for boys. Stony Hill is now a modern residential area.
Washington Drive was constructed through lands bought from the late Hon. Norman Manley, and may have been named after him. There is also Washington Boulevard.
Whitney Estate was leased from the Earl of Dudley by the Hon. John Powell Clark in the mid-l800’s. The late Messrs. Ernest M. Clark and S.A. Lord (born in Jamaica) took over the lease of Whitney Estate from the estate of J.P. Clark in 1919. About 1925 the two men, after having leased Whitney for 40 years, purchased it. John P. Clark was a son of John and Jane Clark of Kendal, also in this parish; he died January 29th, 1915.The present owner of Whitney Estxte is Mrs. E.J. Clark.
Cinchona (Plantations, afterwards known as Gardens) in the Blue Mountains, was so named because of the planting of cinchona trees there in 1868 during the governorship of Sir John Peter Grant. The name Cinchona is derived from the fact that quinine, obtained from the bark of these trees, was first administered to the Countess of Chincon (wife of the Viceroy of Peru). The experiments of the Government of Jamaica to grow cinchona bark for sale, failed because of competition from Indian cinchona which was sold at a cheaper rate. (An attempt to grow Assam tea was also made at Cinchona.)
The Cinchona Gardens, with their old towering trees, can be reached by a driving road via Clydesdale Youth Camp. A magnificent view of the Blue Mountain peak and range can be had from Cinchona Gardens. Cuna Cuna Pass, in the Blue Mountains, is named for a place in West Africa.
Liguanea, the plain on which Kingston, the capital city, is situated, was formerly known as Hato de Liguanea. Morce’s Gap, in the Blue Mountains, is named after John Morce, Sergeant-at-arms in the House of Assembly in the 18th century, and Deputy Postmaster.
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