St. Catherine is a colonial parish, owing much of its colonial fame to Spanish Town. Spanish Town is the capital city which was Jamaica’s capital city for over 200 years. Spanish Town is known for high level of crime and poverty; however the government has made tremendous efforts to reduce this. Spanish Town is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Jamaica.
Another significant feature of St. Catherine is its single largest residential community in the Caribbean, Portmore. The coastal city of Portmore is estimated to have over 250,000 residents. Though unpopular with tourists, Portmore has beautiful beaches and is popular with fishing activities.
St. Catherine is quite a buzz with manufacturing activities, and is Jamaica’s second largest industrial center. It is believed to have up to 100 hundred manufacturing firms, with products ranging from sweet condiments to pharmaceuticals.
Agriculture is also very prevalent in St. Catherine and represents the major source of employment for residents. Many farms can be found in the parish and the most popular includes citrus, bananas, sugarcane and dairy.
What you’ll find:
- Manufacturing
- Heritage Sites
- Beaches
- Rivers
- Restaurants
- Farms
- Shopping Areas
- Horseracing
- Night Clubs
Quick Facts:
- Established: 1867
- Capital: Spanish Town
- Land Area: 1192.4 sq. km
- Rivers: Rio Cobre
- Valley: Lluidas Vale
- Mountain: Juan De Bolas, Montpellier, Mount Diablo
- Plain:St. Jago
Interesting Places:
- Sligoville
- Spanish Town Square
- Flat Bridge
- Port Henderson
- Rio Cobre River
- Caymanas Race Track
- St. Clair Cave