New Market is a small town in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of Saint Elizabeth,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

History

S. J. Manley, the paternal grandfather of

Norman Manley Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only Premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate ...

, was a shopkeeper at Kepp, New Market, in the 1860s. His grave was rediscovered in 2016. In June 1979, New Market was heavily affected by floods induced by Tropical Depression One, which caused the deaths of 41 people across Jamaica. A "lake district" was created at New Market, covering 600 acres of land with water up to 90 feet deep. Even after some flood waters had receded, the government reported that New Market was still "buried under 80 feet of water." The government proposed to build a new settlement in the area of the town at Mocho, and a new health centre. By February 1980, only half of the flooded areas at New Market were free of water. The new town was built by the Urban Development Corporation and was named Lewisville after the Cleve Lewis, a former member of parliament (MP) for the area and the father of Neville Lewis, the MP at the time of the flood and reconstruction. The market at Lewsville housed "a butchery, a cold storage area and an area set aside for the sale of fish," while the town centre housed a branch of the People's Cooperative Bank, a memorial garden for flood victims, a health centre, police station, and community centre. These were surrounded by 14 house or shop units, valued at between $45,000–$50,000

Jamaican dollar The Jamaican dollar ( sign: $; code: JMD) has been the currency of Jamaica since 1969. It is often abbreviated to J$, the J serving to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents, although cent denomin ...

s. On 9 December 1983, Lewisville was officially opened by

Edward Seaga Edward Philip George Seaga ( or ; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005.Prime Minister of Jamaica The prime minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Holness, as leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was sworn in as prime minister on 7 September 2020, having been re-elected as a result of t ...

References

Populated places in Saint Elizabeth Parish {{Jamaica-geo-stub