Granville is a small community in the parish of St. James on the island of Jamaica.
Granville | |
|---|---|
  Granville | |
| Coordinates: 18°26′39″N 77°53′35″W / 18.44417°N 77.89306°W | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Parish | St James |
| First settled | 1845 |
| Founded by | Rev. William Knibb |
History
editGranville is named after Granville Sharp in 1845. Sligoville was said to be the first ‘free village’ to be established, and this was done by Rev. James Mursell Phillippo.[1] William Knibb bought 90 acres here to create somewhere that ex-slaves could live if they were thrown off their previous owners land. The 90 acres had been a farm known as Grumble Pen. Knibb also hoped to grow the congregation of Falmouth Baptist Church.[2]
What became known as ‘The Free Village System’ resulted from the first named Sligoville,[3] and similar villages were established throughout the island, most of them by ministers of religion, who supplied land to the ex-slaves.[4][5]
Knibb died in 1845 and became a Jamaican hero. The village of Granville was looked after by his widow Mary Knibb and a Sargeant Wallace. Some of the people still living there have deeds signed by Mary Knibb which show that they have a legal entitlement to their land. However this is not always the case. The village has a primary and infant school, a church, and a postal agency. The school was rebuilt in 1953 after the previous one was lost in a hurricane in 1951.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Sligoville". Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ^ a b Rise & Fall Of Granville, 21 July 2014, The Gleaner, Retrieved 3 September 2015
- ^ Sligoville - Jamaica's First Free Village Established To Prepare For Emancipation, Jamaica Gleaner
- ^ Cultural Studies. Routledge. 1992. ISBN 0-415-90345-9.
- ^ Serju, Christopher (29 January 2011). "Bairds Bare Sligoville's Rich Past". The Gleaner.