Janjanbureh or Jangjangbureh is a town, founded in 1832, on

Janjanbureh Island MacCarthy Island, also known as Lemain Island or Janjanbureh Island, is an island located approximately 170 miles (272 km) upriver from the mouth of the Gambia River, in eastern Gambia, in the Janjanbureh District. Located on the island is ...

, also known as MacCarthy Island, in the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigabl ...

in eastern Gambia. Until 1995, it was known as Georgetown and was the second largest town in the country. It is the capital of Janjanbureh Local Government Area (formerly the Central River Division), and the Janjanbureh

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. The population of the Janjanbureh LGA was 127,333 at the 2013 population census. The town is best known as home to Gambia's main prison. The

Wassu stone circles The Senegambian stone circles are groups of megalithic stone circles that lie in The Gambia north of Janjanbureh and in central Senegal. With an approximate area of 30,000 km²,Laport et al. 2012, p. 410 they are sometimes divided into th ...

lie 22 km northwest of Lamin Koto, on the north bank across from Janjanbureh. It was the birthplace of the late Yale University historian

Lamin Sanneh Lamin Sanneh (May 24, 1942 – January 6, 2019) was the D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity at Yale Divinity School and Professor of History at Yale University. Biography Sanneh was born and raised in Gambia as part of ...

. The island is known locally as MacCarthy Island and is located in what used to be called MacCarthy Island Division. The island is accessed by bridge from the south bank, and small boat ferries or government ferry on the north bank. In 1995, both the city of Georgetown and MacCarthy Island were renamed Janjanbureh respectively.

Gallery

References

External links

Information from "Slavery Trade of the Gambia"
{{Administrative divisions of the Gambia Central River Division Populated places established in 1832 Populated places in the Gambia Gambia River 1832 establishments in Africa Local Government Areas of the Gambia