Fort Augusta

Named after the mother of King George III, the fort was completed in the 1750s after an arduous construction process during which many workers suffered sickness and fevers. The area on which it was built was known as Mosquito Point. The fort was the sentinel on the harbor during a time when Spanish reprisals were still a tangible fear, and it served as a well-stocked arsenal. Ships coming into Kingston Harbour would unload their ammunition at the fort as a safety measure, but fewer precautions were taken at the fort itself; in 1782 the magazine containing 300 barrels of gunpowder was struck by lightning. The resulting explosion destroyed the building, killing 300 people, and broke windows as far as 27 kilometers away. Today the Fort is the site of Jamaica’s only female prison. The St. Catherine Parish Council has made overtures toward demolishing the prison to allow for restoration of the fort, but the issue has gained little traction.