Granville is a small community in the parish of St. James on the island of Jamaica.

Granville
Granville is located in Jamaica
Granville
Granville
Coordinates: 18°26′39″N 77°53′35″W / 18.44417°N 77.89306°W / 18.44417; -77.89306
CountryJamaica
ParishSt James
First settled1845
Founded byRev. William Knibb

History

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Granville 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

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  1. ^ "Sligoville". Jamaica National Heritage Trust. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b Rise & Fall Of Granville, 21 July 2014, The Gleaner, Retrieved 3 September 2015
  3. ^ Sligoville - Jamaica's First Free Village Established To Prepare For Emancipation, Jamaica Gleaner
  4. ^ Cultural Studies. Routledge. 1992. ISBN 0-415-90345-9.
  5. ^ Serju, Christopher (29 January 2011). "Bairds Bare Sligoville's Rich Past". The Gleaner.