Lucea (Jamaican Creole : Luusi) is a coastal town in Jamaica and the capital of the parish of Hanover.
Lucea (Jamaican Creole : Luusi) is a coastal town in Jamaica and the capital of the parish of Hanover.
Hanover, Jamaica's second smallest parish was founded on 12 November 1723 with Lucea as the capital and main city. From the middle of the 18th century, the farmers of Hanover provided the rest of Jamaica with most of its produce but mainly exported banana and logwood, which is used to make dyes.
Fort Charlotte in Lucea was built in 1761. Alongside the fort is an impressive Georgian brick structure known as The Barracks, which was built in 1843 to provide shelter to the soldiers stationed there. [1] [2] [3]
In the early 20th century The Barracks became the educational center for the town and has now been transformed to become part of the Rusea's High School complex. In 1982 Rusea's High School was merged with the Hanover Secondary School and is still known as the Rusea's High School (Fort Charlotte). In January 2019 the school was still open and open-air lessons took place inside the fort.
The parish has three small waterfalls, several coves, such as the Davis Cove, named after a prominent Hanover family, along its coastline and large caves.
The still fully functional Lucea clock tower was built in 1817 and stands in the town center near the Old Lucea courthouse. [4]
Other notable tourist attractions are Lucea's many historical sites that date back as far as the 18th century. Lucea Parish Church (the Parish Church of Hanover) is one of the oldest churches in Jamaica. Although no record of when it was first built exists the first baptism record dates back to 1725, the first burial was in 1727, and the first marriage in 1749. It is said that there is a tunnel that leads from the church to nearby Fort Charlotte, which was a safe haven in time of war. The Hanover Museum sits on the site of a prison dating back to 1776, and houses many historical artifacts significant to Hanover's history. [5]
Lucea has a population of approximately 5,739. People of mostly African descent make up approximately 92% of population, the others being approximately 1% People of mostly European descent, 4% Asian, 2% Latin American, and all others 2%. [6]
Lucea shares the Jamaican interest in music such as reggae.
A wide variety of vegetables and fruits are grown in the area around Lucea, such as pulses, cereals, and root vegetables. Sugar, cocoa, coffee, bananas, and rum are important exports of Jamaica. In Lucea, there is a need for domestic cultivators and rural farmers to feed the island's people and visitors. Fruits, vegetables, and flowers are also grown for local consumption. One of the staples of Lucea is the breadfruit.
A Rural Agricultural Development Authority farming project along with resident farmers have been "supplying the hotel sector on a consistent basis" and "bring vegetables to the tables of its sophisticated guests", according to The Jamaican Observer . This linkage between the tourism demands and the up-and-coming agricultural communities provides an economic opportunity for Lucea. Therefore, the local farmers mostly produce vegetables, roots and tubers (sweet potatoes and yams), some fruits and flowers (hibiscus and Bauhinia or Poor Man's Orchid). As a result, this leaves the larger crop of sugar, cocoa and coffee to the industrial plantations of Jamaica. These major agricultural industries can bring in revenues in the millions meanwhile, leaving the smaller cultivators to provide exotic vegetables for the resort chain restaurants and tourism industries.
Lucea Yams are a major product of the parish. In the post-emancipation period the formerly enslaved people in the parish began to cultivate the soft, white, delicately-flavoured yam are named for the town. [7] [8] In the 19th and early 20th century yams grown in the parish were exported from the port of Lucea to places like Colón and Cuba which had sizable Jamaican populations because of the thousands who had migrated to work on the Panama Canal and on sugar and banana plantations. [9]
Lucea boasts many clubs and parks as well as the historical attractions, and museum. Lucea's most popular dance clubs that attract both tourists and local people are the 300 Club, founded in 1955, Green Dragon, and Border Line. The Tryall Golf, Tennis & Beach Club sits on a 2,200-acre (8.9 km2) property outside Lucea, and is Hanover's most exclusive resort.
Lucea lies between two of Jamaica's most prominent resort cities, Negril and Montego Bay, but has yet to capitalize on the thousands of tourists that pass through. Jamaica Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has said he will announce plans for designating Lucea as a resort destination. Bartlett said:
The designation will give Lucea certain privileges and will also allow for us to look at the resort's planning development, which other resort towns are getting and so Lucea will be able to join Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios as properly planned resort centers.
Since that statement Grand Palladium, part of a Spanish hotel firm, has erected a new 1600 unit luxury double resort called the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort and Spa / Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton.
The economy of Jamaica is heavily reliant on services, accounting for 71% of the country's GDP. Jamaica has natural resources and a climate conducive to agriculture and tourism. The discovery of bauxite in the 1940s and the subsequent establishment of the bauxite-alumina industry shifted Jamaica's economy from sugar, and bananas.
Hedonism II is an adults-only vacation resort in Jamaica, owned and operated by Marshmallow Ltd, headed by Harry Lange. The resort has areas reserved for naturism and it is known for its sexually liberal culture. As of 2020, only Hedonism II is in operation. There was never a Hedonism I, and Hedonism III closed in 2010.
Negril is a small, widely dispersed beach resort and town located in Westmoreland and Hanover parishes at the far western part of Jamaica, 80.8 kilometres (50.2 mi) southwest from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.
Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 114,227 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast.
Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated south of Hanover, southwest of Saint James, and northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is Savanna-la-Mar. Negril, a famous tourist destination, is also situated in the parish.
St. James is a suburban parish, located on the north-west end of the island of Jamaica in the county of Cornwall. Its capital is Montego Bay. Montego Bay was officially named the second city of Jamaica, behind Kingston, in 1981, although Montego Bay became a city in 1980 through an act of the Jamaican Parliament. The parish is the birthplace of the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes.
Hanover is a parish located on the northwestern tip of the island of Jamaica. It is a part of the county of Cornwall, bordered by St. James in the east and Westmoreland in the south. With the exception of Kingston, it is the smallest parish on the island. Hanover is the birth parish of Alexander Bustamante, labour leader, first head of government of Jamaica under universal suffrage, and one of seven Jamaican National Heroes. Its capital is Lucea.
Green Island is a small town in northwestern Jamaica, located on the west coast between Negril and Lucea in the parish of Hanover. It is located close to Orange Bay.
Petersfield is a small town in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. It shares its name with five other places in Jamaica.
Glenroy "Glen" Campbell is a Jamaican actor and comedian, known for his role in the 1980s Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation television series Titus in Town.
Port Maria is the capital town of the Jamaican parish of Saint Mary.
Little London is a Town in the Little London District of Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. It sits midway between the town of Negril to the north and the Parish Capital Savanna-la-Mar to the south.
Charles Stanley Stair was a soldier in the British West Indies Regiment, who was at the time of his death the last surviving veteran from the Caribbean to have served in World War I. He enlisted into the labour corps in 1916, and was sent from Jamaica to France and Italy as one of more than 15,000 men who volunteered for "The Coloured Regiment". At the end of the war, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He lived to be 107 years old.
Better Tomorrow is a studio album by a Jamaican reggae female singer, Etana, released on February 18, 2013, under VP Records. "Etana" will return in 2013 with a scorching new reggae set of 14 new songs about life, love and reggae. "Better Tomorrow" is fully rooted in the one drop reggae style that made Etana’s name. The album is produced by Shane Brown of Jukeboxx Productions and showcases the talents of some of Jamaica’s top studio musicians and legendary engineer Errol Brown.
Kevin Mark Holness, better known as Mighty Mystic, is a Jamaican-born, Somerville, Massachusetts-based reggae artist. He is the younger brother to current Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
The 1912 Jamaica hurricane was a slow-moving tropical cyclone that meandered about the island of Jamaica, causing torrential rainfall and severe flooding in November 1912. The strongest hurricane in the Atlantic that year, the cyclone formed from a low pressure area in the southwestern Caribbean Sea early on November 11. Initially, the storm tracked slowly to northwest, before eventually curving north-northeastward. Late on November 13, the cyclone became a hurricane. After reaching hurricane status, further deepening was slow, though after recurving toward northeastward, the storm began to quicken its rate of intensification. Early on November 17, the system peaked as a 115 mph (185 km/h) Category 3 hurricane on the modern day Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. It continued north-northeastward and made landfall near Negril, Jamaica, on November 18. The storm weakened continually after landfall and reentry into the Caribbean Sea. On November 20, the hurricane weakened to a tropical storm north of Jamaica. The system tracked westward across the Caribbean, before dissipating on November 22 to the southwest of Grand Cayman.
Titchfield High School is a secondary high school in Port Antonio, Jamaica, in the northern part of Portland Parish. The school was established in January 1786, and is the fifth-oldest high school in the country, after Wolmer's Boys', one of the Wolmer's Schools (1729), Manning's School (1738), St. Jago High School (1744), and Rusea's High School (1777). In the 18th century, these schools originated from their benefactors’ concerns for the education of the country’s poor, usually the children of poor whites, as there was no system in place for the education of the children of slaves.
Enid Gonsalves, OD was a Jamaican teacher and community activist from Hanover Parish, Jamaica. She was recognized throughout her career with many distinctions including the Governor General's Achievement Award and the Prime Minister's Medal for Community Service and Education. In 2008 she was honoured as an officer in the Order of Distinction and the following year, received the Holy See's Medal of Good Merit.
Rusea's High School in Lucea, Hanover, Jamaica, established in 1777, is the fourth oldest, continuously operated high school in Jamaica, after Wolmer's Boys', one of the Wolmer's Schools (1729), Manning's School (1738) and St. Jago High School (1744).
