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David Ellington a poor hackney carriage drive founded the Lucas Cricket Club in Kingston and funded it out of his own pocket. It was named after the first Englishman to bring a cricket team to Jamaica (1895), known as Slade Lucas. He produced two of the finest batsmen of this century – J.K. Holt Snr. and George Headley. |
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Discover the inherent charm of villages with names like Standfast, Wait-A-Bit, Me-nuh-sen-yu-nuh-come, or Nonsuch |
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Resort Areas
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| | Montego Bay |
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| | Negril |
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| | Ocho Rios |
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| | Port Antonio |
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| | South Coast |
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Cave Valley |
| Cave Valley, so called because of its proximity to the large system of interconnecting limestone caves that stretch through the north and west of the country, is located on the banks of the Cave River. The river begins underground, appearing and disappearing as it meanders from the interior, finally feeding into one of the larger rivers that flow to the sea. Although the river is small, it is a dangerous one, and from time to time, when heavy rainfall saturates the underground sinkholes and channels, the water backs up and floods the village and surrounding areas. It is the same river, however, which causes rampant and widespread destruction, that is also the reason the valley is so remarkably fertile.
The village falls within an old historic district, not far away from the Vera Ma Hollis Savannah, one of the major bases of activity for the first maroons – those freed slaves of the Spanish colonial era that took to the hills to wage guerrilla warfare against the English. Years later, the valley was still a maroon stronghold, and so during the Maroon Wars, the English erected a barracks on the banks of the river from whence they launched their attacks. The ruins of the Cave Valley Regiment quarters are still visible today. Also just outside the village centre is a chimney, the remains of a mill that dates to 1872. The chimney is as impressive as it is amusing, seemingly to rise out of nowhere, and reaching at least thirty feet into the air.
Until recently, Cave Valley was one of the most important tobacco producing regions in Jamaica. In the early days of English colonialism, tobacco was one of Jamaica's primary agricultural products, that is, before the North American colonies demanded from the colonial government a monopoly on the cultivation of the plant. When sugar replaced tobacco in importance economically, the island's tobacco regions diminished, leaving areas of major importance like Cave Valley producing cigars and cigarettes from the fine tobacco that made the Caribbean famous.
Over time, the cultivation of tobacco has declined, and its stead, coffee cultivation has taken over. The Baronhall Estate today is the largest working plantation in the community, employing most of its workers from the valley communities. Because of its location, (the village is on the major route from the south-central parishes to the north but very far from any major town) the market at Cave Valley never gained distinction by virtue of its size or variety of produce. Instead, Cave Valley market is best know for the weekly livestock auctions held there. |
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