Port Maria

One of the most picturesque towns in Jamaica, Port Maria has a large protected harbor with the small Cabarita Island, also known as Treasure Island, in the center. Originally inhabited by the Tainos and later by the Spanish, the island was vulnerable to pirate attacks and warring colonial powers and fell into the hands of the pirate Henry Morgan until he lost it in a gamble. By the late 1700s a village began to take shape on the harbor shores, on land owned by Zachary Bailey. The parish vestry acquired land for the growing village from Bailey's nephew in 1816, and by 1821 public buildings including the parish council offices and the courthouse were built. Port Maria boomed with exports that included sugar, rum, indigo, pimento, tropical hardwoods, and coffee. Port Maria has long since passed its prime. Nevertheless, it still has a strong fishing community and is a commercial center for the people of the surrounding rural districts. Several infrastructure improvements associated with the North Coast Highway project have recently given the town a bit of a face-lift. The Outram River forms the eastern border of town, beyond which begins a vast wilderness area wrapping around the hilly coastline all the way to Robin's Bay.