Trelawny Parish, Jamaica

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Trelawny

Location

latitude 18°15'N,
longitude 77°46'W

Capital town

Falmouth

Major towns

Clarks Town, Duncans,
Wakefield, Wait-a-Bit, Albert Town

County

Cornwall

Area

874 square km

Rank

Jamaica's fifth largest parish

Population

74,000 in 2001

Commerce

Agriculture, Manufactoring

Trelawny is a parish located on the northwest section of Jamaica in the county of Cornwall. Its capital is Falmouth. It is bordered by Saint Ann in the east, Saint James in the west, and parts of Saint Elizabeth and Manchester in the south.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Commerce
4 References

[edit] History

In 1770, the wealthy planters in St James and St Ann succeeded in having sections of those parishes become the parish of Trelawny as they were too far from administrative centres. Trelawny was named after Sir William Trelawny, the then Governor of Jamaica. The first capital was Martha Brae located two miles inland from Rock Bay.

Trelawny is best known or its sugar estates and sugar factories. It had more sugar estates than any other parish, so there was need for a sea coast town to export it. Falmouth became a thriving seaport and social centre. The town had two of its own newspapers; The Falmouth Post and The Falmouth Gazette.

Trelawny was also home to the largest group of Maroons in the island. A 1739 treaty between the Maroons and the English gave the Maroons freedom and land, which effectively put a stop to their raids on the plantations. However, a second Maroon uprising in 1795, led to over 600 Maroons being exiled to Nova Scotia, Canada and later to Sierra Leone in Africa in 1800.

[edit] Geography

Trelawny is located at latitude 18°15'N, longitude 77°46'W. It has an area of 874 sq km, making it the fifth largest parish on the island. It has a population of 74,000. Most of the parish is flat, with wide plains such as Queen of Spain's Valley, 750 feet above sea level, and Windsor, 580 feet above sea level. Most of southern Trelawny at 750 feet above sea level. The highest point in the parish is Mount Ayr which is 3,000 feet above sea level.

The southern section of Trelawny is part of the Cockpit Country, and is uninhabitable. It is therefore a natural reserve for flora and fauna; most of Jamaica's 27 endemic bird species can be found there, along with the yellow snakes, and the giant swallowtail butterfly, the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere.

Most of the parish has the typical limestone features of cockpits, sinkholes, caves and underground passages. There are about 48 caves, most with phosphate gatherings. These include the Windsor Cave, and Carambi Cave, known for its beauty and phosphate deposits. There are several other caves which have Taino carvings on the walls. There are also several underground conduits, with the longest running for 15 miles. The main rivers are the Martha Brae, Rio Bueno, Cane and Quashie.

[edit] Commerce

Trelawny's sources of employment come from agriculture, manufactoring, and Tourism. Rum and sugar are Trelawny's principal products. Other crops include, bananas yams, strawberries, vegetables, pimento, coffee, ginger, and coconut. Though the fishing industry is declining, Trelawny still produces a large amount of fishes. There are ten beaches along the coast, with more than 30 boats each as well as 27 fish ponds. There are 25 factories in the parish. These produce sugar, rum, apparel among other things. Two of the eight remaining sugar factories in Jamaica are in Trelawny —Hampden Sugar Factory, and Trelawny Sugar formerly Long Pond Sugar Factory. The tourism sector is still growing. Major hotels are Braco Village Resort, Silver Sands Resort and the Starfish Hotel.