A brief history of St Catherine
Published:Saturday | December 3, 2022 | 12:05 AMKeisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer
St Catherine was one of the first seven parishes created in 1664, making it one of the seven oldest parishes in Jamaica. It is also one of the largest parishes. However, this was not the case in the early when the parish was much smaller than it is now.
It was not until 1867 when three other parishes of St John, St Thomas-in-the-Vale and St Dorothy were added to St Catherine that the parish reached its current size.
This southern parish is home to Portmore, the most populous residential community in the Caribbean. Portmore has seen outstanding growth over the years. Data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica show that the population of Portmore moved from 5,000 in 1970 to its most recent figure of 159,974 (Census 2001 figures). There have been large increases in other towns as well. Old Harbour, Linstead, Bog Walk and Ewarton together account for 12.4 per cent of the total population of the parish.
Portmore became a municipality by an Act of Parliament on June 19, 2003, before which the area was administered by the St Catherine Parish Council. Municipal status allows for the mayor to be directly elected by the people.
The Mandela Highway, a four-lane roadway, connects Spanish Town with Kingston. Portmore is connected to Kingston by a section of the North-South Highway, a 23-kilometre tolled motorway which connects Kingston, Ocho Rios, Montego Bay, sections of Hanover, Westmoreland, Manchester and St Elizabeth.
Spanish Town connects with Bog Walk via the picturesque Bog Walk Gorge. North of Bog Walk are the towns of Linstead (population 15,046 – Census 2011 figures) and Ewarton (population 10,699) and the towering Mount Diablo.
East of Spanish Town is the town of Old Harbour (population 23,610 – Census 2011 figures). The Bodles Agricultural Station is located on the outskirts of Old Harbour. Five kilometres or three miles from Old Harbour lies Old Harbour Bay, the largest fishing village in Jamaica. The area has been upgraded recently.
St Catherine’s capital, Spanish Town, is unique in many respects because it is the town that has the longest period of settlement in the entire country; it has the finest collection of historic buildings and the most significant monuments, including the Anglican Cathedral.
Founded in 1534 by the Spanish after the abandonment of the first capital at St Ann’s Bay, they named it Villa de la Vega, translated as ‘The Town on the Plain’ because of its location on the plains surrounding the river which they named the Rio Cobre, and also because of its proximity to two good ports.
However, through a misunderstanding, the British called the town St Jago (Santiago) de la Vega and then later, Spanish Town. Although the town’s basic plan is Spanish in origin, no Spanish buildings remain. The impressive public buildings like the House of Assembly and The Old King’s House in the old square or Parade, all date from the British period.
As Jamaica’s capital during the years of prosperity and in the consolidation of British Imperial rule, Spanish Town’s story was difficult to distinguish from the story of Jamaica itself. Here the Council and the Assembly made, amended and repealed laws; constitutions framed, defended and annulled. Near the Assembly sat the Supreme Court and across the way lived the governor.
In its heyday, Spanish Town was the centre of life where all visitors came – Admirals Horatio Nelson and Rodney; Captain William Bligh of Bounty and breadfruit fame, and Winston Churchill. But once the capital was removed to Kingston in 1872, Spanish Town went into steady decline from which it has never fully recovered.