Saint Ann () is the largest

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on account of its natural

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

l beauty. Its

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Saint Ann's Bay Saint Ann's Bay () is a settlement in Jamaica, the capital of Saint Ann Parish. It had a population of 10,961 at the 1991 census. Musicians Floyd Lloyd and Burning Spear, and Hero of Jamaica Marcus Garvey were born in the town. History When ...

. Saint Ann comprises New Seville, the first Spanish settlement in

. Saint Ann is the birthplace of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

singers Floyd Lloyd,

Burning Spear Winston Rodney Order of Distinction, OD (born 1 March 1945), better known by the stage name Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer-songwriter, vocalist, and musician. Burning Spear is a Rastafarian movement, Rastafarian and one of the ...

Busy Signal A busy signal (or busy tone or engaged tone) in telephony is an audible call-progress tone or audible signal to the calling party that indicates failure to complete the requested connection of that particular telephone call. The busy signa ...

, Bryan Art,

Romain Virgo Romain Virgo (born 24 January 1990) is a Jamaican singer, specializing in the lovers rock style of reggae music, and a past competitor in the local music competition ''Rising Stars''. Biography Virgo hails from Stepney in Saint Ann Parish. As a ...

, Rashawn Dally, Chezidek,

Shabba Ranks Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon OD (born 17 January 1966), better known by his stage name Shabba Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throu ...

Justin Hinds Justin Hinds (7 May 1942 – 16 March 2005) was a Jamaican ska and conscious roots reggae vocalist with his backing singers the Dominoes. He is best known for his work with Duke Reid's Treasure Isle Records, where his most notable song, "Car ...

Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection; completeness, and excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film and television * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (20 ...

, and

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

. Marcus Mosiah Garvey, one of the seven recipients of Jamaica's Order of National Hero, was also born there.

History

Saint Ann is one of the oldest populated areas in the island of Jamaica tracing back to 600–650 A.D. It is believed to be the earliest Taino/

Arawak The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), w ...

settlement in Jamaica. When

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

first came to Jamaica in 1494, he landed on the shores of Saint Ann at Discovery Bay, Jamaica. He returned to Jamaica on his fourth voyage and was eventually marooned for one year at Saint Ann's Bay (June 1503 – June 1504), which he called Santa Gloria. The first

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

settlement in Jamaica was also at Sevilla la Nueva, now called Seville, just to the west of Saint Ann's Bay. Established by

Juan de Esquivel Juan de Esquivel (c. 1480 – c. 1513) was a Spanish colonist and first governor of the Colony of Santiago, now Jamaica. Biography Conquistador Juan de Esquivel was a native of Seville, the son of Pedro de Esquivel and Constanza Fernandez de ...

, the first Spanish Governor of Jamaica, Saint Ann's Bay became the third capital established by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. The first

sugar mill A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw sugar or plantation white sugar. Some sugar mills are situated next to a back-end refinery, that turns raw sugar into (refined) white sugar. The term is also used to refer ...

s were established by the Spaniards in Sevilla la Nueva before 1526. After 1655, when the English captured Jamaica, Saint Ann's Bay gradually developed as a

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

with many

warehouses A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities, to ...

and

wharves A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( ...

. The parish of Saint Ann was later named after Lady Anne Hyde the first wife of

King James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") () is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth ...

began to develop as a modern town and a favourite

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

destination in Jamaica. Its development commenced when Reynolds Jamaica Mines built a deep-water

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

, west of the town to ship

bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...

from the mines. In the 1960s the Saint Ann Development Council began the systematic development of

, creating a modern town.

Geography

The parish is located at latitude 18°12'N, longitude 77°28'W. It is bordered by Clarendon and Saint Catherine in the south, Saint Mary in the east, and Trelawny in the west. As with all but one parish, its coast is washed by the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

. Saint Ann covers an area of 1,212.6 km², making it the largest parish, before Saint Elizabeth's 1,212.4 km². The population was an estimated at 173,232 in 2012. Besides Saint Ann's Bay, other important towns located in Saint Ann are

Discovery Bay Discovery Bay is a picturesque residential community located on Lantau Island. The 2021 census recorded a population of 19,336 residents in DB, with 55% of them being non-Chinese. DB is home to a significant community compared of expatriates ...

Brown's Town Brown's Town is one of the principal towns in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, St. Ann Parish, Jamaica.Brown's Tow ...

, and

. The highest elevation in the parish is in the Dry Harbour Mountains at 762 metres above sea level. Because of its limestone formation, the parish is noted for its 59 caves and numerous sinkholes. The

Moneague Moneague is a small town in Saint Ann, Jamaica on the main road between Kingston and Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") () is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred ...

Lake, which varies considerably in size, is one of the few large intermittent lakes in the island. The boundary between Saint Ann and Saint Mary is formed by the White River, which flows for 27.4 kilometres. Other rivers like the Dunn's River appear intermittently, rising a few kilometres from the coast. The names of the main rivers are Negro, Saint Ann, Great, Roaring, Cave and Pedro (see

List of rivers of Jamaica This is a list of rivers of Jamaica, arranged from west to east, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. North Coast * South Negril River **Unnamed *Middle River **Unnamed **Unnamed * North Negril River *Orange Rive ...

Economy

Agriculture

The agricultural products are mainly bananas, allspice/pimento, sugar, coconuts, coffee, limes, corn, ginger, sweet potatoes, sensimilia yam, and

annatto Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropics, tropical parts of the Americas. It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but ...

. The soil is also suitable for citrus and,

sisal Sisal (, ; ''Agave sisalana'') is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico, but widely cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. It yields a stiff fibre used in making rope and various other products. The sisal fiber is ...

is cultivated in the drier areas. The parish is also noted for cattle rearing, horses and hogs (swine). Recently, however, agriculture has been on the decline as farmland is being used for housing and other developments and the cultivated area has decreased.

Tourism

The major economic activity in the parish is tourism. Saint Ann is one of the major tourist destinations of Jamaica, given that Dunn's River Falls and many popular beaches, like Puerto Seco Beach, are located there. There is a cruise ship dock (maritime) on the west shore of Ocho Rios Bay, and numerous hotels and resorts (including a Sandals Resort) are located in and around the city. It is also the birthplace/resting place for

(6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981).

Commerce

Banks and supermarkets along with some restaurants make up the rest of the economy. The farmers market where small farmers and food vendors operate is also a source of employment for the locals.

Education

High schools

* Ferncourt High School * York Castle High School *St. Hilda's High School *Ocho Rios High School *Marcus Garvey Technical High School *Brown's Town High School *Aabuthnott Gallimore High School *Saint Ann's Bay High School (Private) *Prospect College (private semi-military) *The NorthGate High School(Private) *Steer Town Academy *Mount Pleasant Academy (Private)

Community colleges

*Brown's Town Community College *

Moneague College Moneague College is a multidisciplinary institution located in Moneague, Saint Ann, Jamaica on the main road between Kingston and Ocho Rios. The college is partly situated in the former colonial-era Moneague Hotel. History The Moneague Hotel w ...

Correctional centres

The

Hill Top Juvenile Correctional Centre __NOTOC__ Hill Top Correctional Centre was built to accommodate ninety eight boys.Project 2005
...

, operated by the

Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica The Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica (DCS) is a department of the Ministry of National Security of Jamaica, headquartered in Kingston. The department operates prisons and jails in Jamaica. The current Commissioner of Corrections is Brig ...

, is located in

Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

and has a capacity for 98. The Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre for girls was located in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

but on 22 May 2009 a fire went through the facility, killing 5 girls and injuring 13 more. The replacement facility is located in

Diamond Crest Villa Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insol ...

near Alligator Pond in

Manchester Parish The Parish of Manchester () is a Parishes of Jamaica, parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its Capital (political), capital, Mandeville, Jamaica, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross ...

. The Parish also contains the historic

Saint Ann's Bay Old Jail __NOTOC__ The Old Jail in Saint Ann's Bay is said to have been the very first prison in Jamaica. Built as a fort , it was declared useless in 1795 as the sea was encroaching. It was then converted into a jail and house of correction. The jail had ...

, perhaps the first prison in Jamaica.

Politics

Saint Ann Parish is represented in the

Parliament of Jamaica The Parliament of Jamaica () is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. Officially, they are known as the Houses of Parliament. It consists of three elements: The Monarchy of Jamaica, Crown (represented by the Govern ...

by four

single-member constituencies A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a Multiwinner voting, multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as ...

: * Saint Ann North Eastern * Saint Ann North Western * Saint Ann South Eastern * Saint Ann South Western

Attractions

Natural

* Dunn's River Falls * Green Grotto Caves *

Marine Park * Fern Gully *Shaw Park Gardens *Coyaba River Garden *Puerto Seco Beach *Chukka Cove Adventures *White River Rafting * Dolphin Cove *

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

*Cranbrook Flower Forrest * Seville Heritage Park * Mystic Mountain

Historic

St. Ann's is a historically significant location that has undergone major development over the years. It was the site of Spanish settlement and civilization in Jamaica, and despite the capital being moved, it remains one of the most important parishes on the island. St. Ann is known for having the most free villages in Jamaica, including Clarksonville which was established in 1835. Originally a small market town and fishing village, St. Ann has evolved into a major player in Jamaica's Bauxite Industry. The parish is also known for its natural beauty and was named Santa Ana (St. Ann) by the Spaniards, earning the nickname "Garden Parish" of Jamaica. The Parish has rich history, including being the location where Christopher Columbus first set foot in Jamaica on May 4, 1494 during his second voyage in the Americas. The British Man-O-War, the Hinchinbrook, previously commanded by then Post-Captain

Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

, also has ties to St. Ann's Parish. The ship was taking on water under the command of Lieutenant John Markham in 1782 soon after leaving Port Royal and sought shelter in St. Ann's Bay, but could not be coaxed over the reef and sank after a nearby schooner took some stores and a few cannons. The anchor of the Hinchinbrook was later retrieved and placed as a landmark in Priory. While many tour buses pass by the landmark on their way to Ocho Rios or Port Antonio, few may realize the significance of the old anchor and its ties to Jamaican history.History
jamaica-gleaner.com

Notable persons

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Jr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL) (commonly known a ...

* D.K. Duncan *

Peter Cargill Peter Raymond Cargill (2 March 1964 – 15 April 2005) was a Jamaican international football player. His position was midfielder or defender. Club career Nicknamed "Jair", he started his footballing career at high school, winning the Triple Crow ...

* Floyd Lloyd * Jamaica national bobsled team * Bass Odyssey *

* Donald J. Harris

Notes

References

External links

StatisticsStatistical Institute of JamaicaJamaica Heritage Trust
{{Authority control Parishes of Jamaica Anne Hyde