 The "Towne of Kingston" was founded after the destruction of Port Royal by the earthquake of 1692. Approximately four days after the earthquake the Legislative Council decided to build a new town. The area designated for this construction was Lord Beeston's Hog Crawle (a place where pigs are kept). The plan of the town was drawn up by John Goffe. Two hundred acres of land were surveyed and divided into lots and sold.
The settlement pattern of Kingston could be placed under the following headings: Yards, Pens, Towns and Merchant Houses. It was not uncommon for Merchants to live upstairs their business places. Yards were located behind these houses and were inhabited by slaves and poor white people, while pens were farms on which livestock were kept.
Rock Fort Spa
The origins of the Rock Fort Spa is uncertain, but is believed to have appeared miraculously following the 1907 earthquake. The water which is very radioactive, is piped from a cold spring in the surrounding hills.
The spa which is operated commercially has several bathhouses, supplied with warm water, and a large swimming pool.
Like the other mineral spas, Rock Fort Mineral Spa is believed to have healing properties
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PORT ROYAL
Port Royal was called "the richest and wickedest city in the world". It was founded in the 1650s by the first British settlers who came to Jamaica. The town grew up around Fort Charles and soon became packed with traders, shopkeepers, innkeepers, soldiers, buccaneers and pirates. There were also a number of craftsmen including carpenters, bricklayers, tailors, goldsmiths and silversmiths. By 1690, there were between 8,000 and 10,000 permanent inhabitants at Port Royal. Some houses were three or four storeys high. Everything was available including bars, taverns, restaurants, coffee houses and brothels.
At a few minutes before 12 midday on Tuesday, June 7, 1692, an earthquake struck Port Royal. A huge tidal wave destroyed ships in the harbour and carried one of the ships into the middle of the town. Many of the buildings were destroyed and most of the city disappeared into the sea. Over 2,000 people died and more than 3,000 had serious injuries. Many of the victims were swallowed up by the earth. There is a very exciting story about Lewis Galdy; he was swallowed alive into the earth by one shock and then was thrown into the sea by another shock. He swam until a boat took him up. Galdy lived forty-seven years after his miraculous escape and is buried in the St. Peter’s Anglican churchyard in Port Royal.
After the earthquake, the survivors went across the harbour and many settled in the new town called Kingston. Port Royal began to lose its status as a major town. A fire in 1703 and a devastating hurricane in 1722 further contributed to the full decline of the town.
The sunken city of Port Royal has been kept almost exactly as it would have looked in 1692 and this has fascinated people all over the world.
Sources
Notes on the History of Port Royal, JNHT Research File
Senior, Olive (1988) A-Z of Jamaican Heritage, Kingston: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.
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