Saint Ann, (capital, Saint Anns Bay) is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, 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 beauty. Saint Ann is the birthplace of reggae singers Burning Spear and the honorable Bob Marley (d. 1981), and The Right Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey (d. 1940), one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes.

Brief history

Lady Anne Hyde

St. 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 settlement in Jamaica. When Christopher Columbus first came to Jamaica in 1494, he landed on the shores of St. Ann. The first Spanish settlement in Jamaica was also at Sevilla la Nueva, now called Seville, just to the west of St Ann's Bay. Established by Juan de Esquivel, the first Spanish Governor of Jamaica, St Ann's Bay became the third capital established by Spain in the Americas. The first sugar mills were established by the Spaniards in Sevilla la Nueva before 1526. After 1655, when the English captured Jamaica, St Ann's Bay gradually developed as a fishing port with many warehouses and wharves. The parish of St. Ann was later named after Lady Anne Hyde the first wife of King James II of England. Ocho Rios began to develop as a modern town and a favourite tourist destination in Jamaica. Its development commenced when Reynolds Jamaica Mines built a deep-water pier, west of the town to ship bauxite ore from the mines. In the 1960s the St Ann Development Council began the systematic development of Ocho Rios creating a modern town.

Geography

The parish is located at latitude 18°12'N, longitude 77°28'W. It is bordered on the south by Clarendon and St. Catherine, in the east by Saint Mary, and Trelawny in the west. As with all but one parish, its coast is washed by the Caribbean sea. St. Ann covers an area of 1,212.6 km, making it the largest parish, before Saint Elizabeth's 1,212.4 sq km. The population was an estimated 168,726 in 2001, with 11,066 living in the capital, St Anns Bay. Other important towns located in St. Ann are Discovery Bay, Brown's Town and Ocho Rios.

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