Parish Evolution

before 1655
Before the British, there were no real parishes, but stretches of land were either named after large Spanish ranches (Yallahs, Morant) or reatined their Arawak names (Guanboa, Liguanea)
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1655-1675
The original English parishes were named after saints, with the exception of Port Royal and Clarendon (named for the Governor). At this point, there were large tracts of land in the centre and west of the island that we unexplored and unnamed.
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1675-1692
Vere and St. Dorthy split off from Clarendon, and St. Thomas-in-the-Vale from northern St. Catherine.
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1693-1702
Kingston separates from St. Andrew. This split takes place after the 1692 earthquake that destroyed Port Royal.
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1703-1722
Though the caves of Bluefields were some of the first places to be inhabited by the Ciboney, Westmoreland the parish was only split off from St. Elizabeth in 1703.
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1723-1769
Portland is formed by merging parts of St. George and St. Thomas-in-the-East. Hanover splits off from Westmoreland.
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1770-1813
Trelawny separates from St. James and is named for a former Governor of the island.
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1814-1840
Manchester is created from parts of St. Elizabeth, Clarendon, and Vere. Almost all of the parish is between 2000 and 3000 ft above sea level.
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1841-1865
Metcalfe parish was carved out of St. George and St. Mary to honour the Governor Sir Charles Metcalfe.
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1866 to the present
8 parishes are absorbed: St. Thomas-in-the-Vale, St. Dorothy, and St. John into St. Catherine; St. David into St. Thmas-in-the-East; Vere into Clarendon; St. George into Portland; and Port Royal into St. Andrew and Kingston.
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