Monument in Edina honoring President Cheeseman

Landing site of first American settlers to Edina

Edina is a city in

District 1 District 1 may refer to: Places * I District, Turku, in Finland * District 1, Düsseldorf, a district in Düsseldorf, Germany * Sector 1 (Bucharest), also known as District 1, in Bucharest, Romania * District I, Budapest in Budapest, Hungary * Dis ...

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with th ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. Located on the central portion of the Atlantic Coast of Liberia on the north shore of the mouth of the St. John River, it is about north of Grand Bassa's capital of Buchanan. Settled in 1832, Samuel A.L. Johnson has been the city's mayor since 2018. The community is named after

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, which provided monetary support for the foundation of the settlement.

History

Edina was founded as a colony of the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the repatriation of freeborn peop ...

in 1832.Tracy, Joseph and Solomon Peck, Enoch Mudge, William Cutter, Enoch Mack
History of American Missions to the Heathen, from Their Commencement to the Present Time From Their Commencement to the Present Time.
Spooner & Howland, 1840. pp. 558-571, 619. Edina colony was later given to the United Colonization Societies of New York and Pennsylvania and became part of the Bassa Cove colony in 1837. On October 22, 1836, a school was opened and in December 1837, a church was founded in the colony. A second church opened in late 1839 while the

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

started a mission at Edina. Edina is listed as one of the original settlements comprising the Commonwealth of Liberia in the 1839 Constitution, which was drafted by the

. Edina was the birthplace of the 12th President of Liberia,

Joseph James Cheeseman Joseph James Cheeseman (March 7, 1843 – November 12, 1896) was the 12th president of Liberia. Born at Edina, Liberia, Edina in Grand Bassa County, he was elected three times on the True Whig ticket. Cheeseman was educated at Liberia Colle ...

. Cheeseman and his wife are buried in Edina next to their mansion, which is now in ruins and overgrown with vegetation. One of the earliest settlers of Edina was Charles R.H. Johnson, a son of Elijah Johnson who was one of the pioneers that played significant roles in establishing Liberia. In 2002, an outbreak of

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

killed six people in and around the city.The NEWS. "Liberia; Diarrhea Kills Six in Grand Bassa ...Threatens District in River Gee", ''Africa News'', October 8, 2002. Steel manufacturer Mittal began subsidising medical care in the city in 2007. The peace activist Etweda Cooper served as mayor from 2010 to 2012.

Details

Edina is in

along the St. John River. It is near the mouth of the river, about north of Buchanan with Paynesberry and Tuo Town the next closest communities. Lying along the Atlantic coast in the central part of Liberian coastline, about 40 miles south of the capital of

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

, it is inhabited by many fishermen. Situated at

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, the greater Edina area has a population of 15,628. Edina Public Health Center, a government run medical clinic, is located in the city. The Liberian government believes Edina lies at the southern end of possible off-shore oil deposits. It is among the oldest communities in the county.

References

External links

The Page Families of Frederick (now Clarke) County

The library of ... sir George Grey, K.C.B. (a catalogue, compiled by W.H.I. Bleek, sir G. Grey and J. Cameron)

The Republic of Liberia: Its Geography, Climate, Soil and Productions
{{Authority control Populated places in Liberia Populated coastal places in Liberia Grand Bassa County Populated places established in 1832 Populated places established by Americo-Liberians 1832 establishments in Africa

History

Details

See also

References

External links