Black River first town in Jamaica to receive electricity
The town Black River in St Elizabeth was the first in the island to receive electricity in 1893 in a house named ‘Waterloo’ owned by the Leyden family. This was long before many homes in the United States had electric power. In fact, historians state that only in 1925 did half of all homes in the US have electricity.
In early Jamaica, Black River was a booming town as residents made their wealth from exporting logwood brought down the town’s famous river, said to be the longest in Jamaica as it begins near Coleyville in Manchester as Hector’s River, running westerly and, after passing Troy in Westmoreland, goes underground in the Cockpit Country. It emerges as the One Eye River in Oxford, Manchester, then goes underground again and when it comes above ground at Mexico in St Elizabeth it officially becomes Black River, travelling south to the Caribbean Sea.
The Black River is said to be navigable for approximately 12 miles.
