Situated in the county of Cornwall, Saint Elizabeth (St. Elizabeth) is one of Jamaica’s larger parishes. In fact it is second only to Saint Ann. It is bordered by no less than four parishes; namely Manchester, Saint James, Trelawny and Westmoreland. St. Elizabeth could easily be said to be the parish that best exemplifies the motto of the country, “Out of Many one people”, because of the diversity of its racial composition. Up to today it is still possible to find descendants of the Chinese, Germans, Indians, Irish, Portuguese, Scots, Spanish, and of course the Africans, all residing in the parish.
In so far as industry and commerce is concerned, back in the olden days the emphasis was on cattle rearing and the growing of logwood primarily for the dyes that they produced. Over time things changed and much like the neighboring parish of Manchester, the economy of St. Elizabeth came to be heavily dependent on the mining of bauxite. This was being carried out at the Alumina Partners of Jamaica refinery, also known as Alpart, which was built in the 1960’s. In May of 2009, due to the worldwide recession, the owners of the company decided to suspend operations indefinitely, and no one knows for certain if, or when, operations will resume. The people of the parish are resourceful though and other ways by which some of them earn a livelihood include farming and fishing. Crops farmed include cassava, scallions, hot peppers, pineapples, melons, tomatoes, and onions, among others. There are also some large acreages of sugar cane. The farming in itself is not without its challenges, as the region is known for its low annual rainfall. This is mostly overcome by means of water irrigation and mulching. This mulching is where grass is strategically laid among the crops in the fields to retain the moisture therein. The results are so good that the parish is often described as the breadbasket of the island.
Visitors to the island will usually be well aware of the country’s north coast and what it has to offer to tourists. These include the pristine beaches, immaculate golf courses, and world-class hotels. They cannot be faulted however, for believing that Jamaica does not have a south coast. That is because it is only fairly recently that any concerted effort has been made to highlight and market the South coast as a tourist destination or a place worthy of a visit. Incidentally whenever anyone uses the term “South Coast” in relation to Jamaica, what they essentially mean is St. Elizabeth. With the world experiencing changes, causing people look to alternatives to what currently obtains, we see more and more of them doing things like choosing to go green and opting for eco-tourism. The south coast is thus coming into its own, as it is a prime example of just what eco-tourism is all about.
The capital of the parish of St. Elizabeth is a town called Black River that gets its name from a river, at the mouth of which it sits. The town, which was at one time a thriving sugar port, is no longer involved in those activities, nevertheless it is still a bustling place and abuzz with commercial activity. Black River boasts a major hospital and a high school both bearing its name, the Black River Hospital and the Black River High School. There are some other high schools of renown in the parish which do exceptionally well at academics as well as sports. Among these are the Hampton High School for girls, the Munro College for boys, and the St. Elizabeth Technical High School (Steths) which is a co-educational institution. Steths is especially known to do well in the game of cricket.
Moving around the parish will not pose a problem, as public passenger vehicles in the form of buses and taxis are readily available at quite reasonable costs. These however, do not operate according to any timetable and often times only get underway when they have a full quota of passengers. For those who choose to move around under their own steam rental cars are also available. Accommodations for visitors to the parish come in a variety of forms including hotels, guesthouses, and bed and breakfast type lodgings. A few that come to mind are Chariots near Santa Cruz, Jakes in Treasure Beach, and the Waterloo Guesthouse in Black River. Incidentally, the Waterloo Guesthouse happens to be the first house to receive electricity, not just in Jamaica, but the entire hemisphere.
People with an interest in history will have struck it rich where St. Elizabeth is concerned. One needs only check out the maroons that reside in their own village in the parish to have enough material to write a book or paper. For the individual with a hunger for old architecture, the Great House in Maggoty, some of the Munro College buildings, and the Waterloo Guesthouse that was constructed in 1819, should be enough to sate that appetite.
Visitors to the parish of St. Elizabeth in search of things to do will find themselves strapped for time to check out all that the parish has on offer. There is the Holland Bamboo Avenue, Lover’s Leap, Y.S. Falls, the Black River Safari, the Cashew Ostrich Park, Apple Valley Park, and the Accompong Maroon Town for starters. A beautiful little St. Elizabeth beach just waiting to be enjoyed is to be found at Font Hill in the parish. This is especially so on public holidays when the crowds turn out. If you are fortunate enough to be in the parish when the Accompong Town maroons or the St. Elizabeth Homecoming people are having their annual celebrations then you are indeed in for a special treat. A trip to the parish would not be complete without these three things; sampling some freshly peppered shrimps at Middle Quarters, partaking of some fried fish and bammy courtesy of the roadside stands at Scotts Cove, and taking the Appleton Rum Tour.