This mega cruise liner graced Falmouth’s newly built harbor with over 6000 passengers and 3000 crew members on March 22 2011. On hand for this historic opening was the prime minister of Jamaica the Rt. Hon. Bruce Golding, minister of tourism Hon. Edmond Bartlett, along with a multitude of government ministers, dignitaries and thousands of well wishers from both public and private sector.

This multimillion dollar investment spear headed by royal Caribbean and the government of Jamaica, is significant not only to Jamaica but to the cruise shipping industry on a hole.

Falmouth was founded by Thomas Reid in 1769, it flourished as a county seat and market center for the Parish of Trelawney for forty years. Jamaica had become the world’s leading sugar producer.

Falmouth is the only place that a mega liner such as the Oasis docks with such a catalyst of preserved historic architecture dating back over 250 years as passengers disembark the vessel they are in the midst of this splendid historic phenomenon.

The town was named after the birthplace of His Excellency Sir William Knibb, Falmouth, Cornwall, England, and is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best preserved historic towns.

Falmouth was meticulously planned from the start, with wide streets in regular grid, adequate water supply, and public buildings, interestingly; Falmouth received piped water before New York City.

During the late eighteen and early nineteen centuries, Falmouth was one of the busiest ports in Jamaica. It was a wealthy parish with a rich racial mix. This was the heyday of king sugar. Within the parish, nearly one hundred plantations were actively manufacturing sugar and rum for export toEngland.Jamaicahas become the world’s leading sugar producer. In Falmouth Harbor as many as 30 tall-ships could be seen on any given day, delivering goods and slaves, and loading their holds with rum and sugar manufactured on nearby plantations.

Starting in 1840,Falmouth’s post-emancipation fortunes as a commercial center declined. This decline and lack of support for development has left many of its early buildings standing. The streets are lined with many small houses known for their unique fretwork and windows, major merchant and planter complexes, and commercial buildings, all dating from 1790-1840.

WhileFalmouthsaw little commercial advancement after the 1840’s, house continued to be built. The town’s building the old and not so old, make up the historic townscape. These shared characteristics weave the varied building styles into a distinctive pattern of early Jamaican architecture, and critical mass of each variety makes the town an unusually distinctive place.

Market Street is lined with the largest coherent group of colonnaded commercial buildings inJamaica. This contrasts dramatically withFalmouth’s residential areas, where rich and poor lived close to one another in a common pre-industrial manner. As a result, there are small wooden houses and brick Georgian Mansions scattered throughout what is now officially designated as the Falmouth Historic District.

Today, a visit toFalmouthis like a walk through history: every house, every corner and every street is filled with stories ofJamaica’s rich history.

For further information on Falmouth and things to do on your visit please contact us.

Email: jamrocktour@gmail.com
jamaicavacations@gmail.com
Phone: 1876-246-2101

Posted by: Sandra Andrews
Jamrock Tours Limited