PARISH HISTORY

St. Mary was named after the Spanish port Santa Maria, and includes the late Parish of Metcalfe, as well as a part of the old Parish of St. George. It is bordered on the east by the parish of Portland, to the west by St. Ann, the Caribbean Sea to the North and the parishes of St. Andrew and St. Catherine to the south. The parish is naturally mountainous with several major rivers, which include the Wag Water, the Rio Nuevo, and the White Rivers.

The capital Port Maria, was established by the Spanish in 1516, the second town after Sevilla. Located on the North Coast, at the mouth of the Outram River, Puerto Santa Maria, as it was then known, became Port Maria after the English conquest in 1658. The harbour was well protected and soon became a major trading port.

Port Maria is the administrative and service centre for this parish. It is located 47 miles north of Kingston, and despite the massive presence of the Blue Mountains, it has relatively easy access to the island’s capital. In the early 19th century, it was a major trading port for sugar, rum and molasses. The sugar exports were later superseded by banana. Today, the main economic activities are agriculture and tourism.

Address:             2 Hodgson Street, Port Maria, St. Mary

Telephone:          994-2644/994-9671                             

Fax:                     994-2372

E-mail:                This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

KEY POSITIONS IN ST. MARY PARISH COUNCIL

Chairman - Mayor Richard Creary

Deputy Chairman - Deputy Mayor Barton Oliver

Secretary/Manager  - Ethlyn Douglas
Superintendent of Roads & Works - Randolph Follette

Director of Finance - Allison Quinland

Director of Planning - Nikala Thompson

Director of Administration - Elaine Swaby

Disaster Coordinator - Yolande Williams