Port Maria is the capital town of the
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 His ...
n parish of
Saint Mary.
Originally named "Puerto Santa Maria", it was the second town established by Spanish settlers in Jamaica. The ruins of
Fort Haldane
Fort Haldane is located near Port Maria in the parish of St Mary, 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 (aft ...
, built 1759, overlook the town.
It has a population of approximately 7,500 people. include St Mary's Parish Church, built in 1861, and the St Mary courthouse, a Georgian structure built in 1820 which now houses the Port Maria civic centre. Jamaica's first Prime minister
Alexander Bustamante was put on trial for manslaughter with Frank Pixley at the courthouse in 1947. They were acquitted.
Port Maria is the birthplace of
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
model
Georgianna Robertson
Georgianna Robertson (March 23, 1972, Port Maria, Jamaica) is a Jamaican-born model and actress. She has appeared on over covers of Spanish, French and Italian editions of ''Elle'' and ''Vogue Paris''. Robertson walked numerous of fashion shows, ...
.
, the Mayor is
Levan Ainsworth Freeman.
Notable buildings
*St Mary courthouse, a Georgian structure built in 1820. Jamaica's first Prime minister
Alexander Bustamante was tried in 1947 for manslaughter with Frank Pixley at the courthouse. They were acquitted.
After a fire gutted the building in 1988, it was rebuilt maintaining the original style and reopened as the Port Maria Civic Centre in 2000.
* St Mary's Parish Church, built in 1861
See also
*
Otram River
*
Paggee River
*
Frontier Estate
*
Trinity plantation
Trinity was a plantation in colonial Jamaica, located south of Port Maria, in Saint Mary Parish, one of several plantations owned by Zachary Bayly that formed part of the area known as Bayly's Vale. By the early nineteenth century, over 1,000 p ...
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica