“Who is that?”

It was the question that hung in the air as the Jamaica Observer stood outside the childhood home of former Prime Minister Hugh Shearer in Martha Brae, Trelawny, speaking with an occupant of the house. The youngster lives at the house but appeared unaware of the property’s historical significance.

“I don’t know anybody who name so,” the occupant added when informed that the former prime minister once occupied the space with his family, and it was declared a national heritage site.

The announcement of the declaration came almost five years ago from Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange during a National Heritage Week Thanksgiving Church Service at William Knibb Memorial Baptist Church in 2020. It was one of the activities that marked the celebration of Trelawny’s 250 years as a parish.

According to the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, the modest wooden house, perched on a concrete base, was once home to a young Shearer. It was here, in the quiet Martha Brae district, that he lived with his father, James Shearer — a veteran of World War I — and his mother, Esther Lindo, until his teenage years.

Shearer would go on to become a towering figure in Jamaican politics, serving as the nation’s third prime minister from 1967 to 1972. Later, under the Administration of Edward Seaga, he held the post of deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade from 1980 to 1989.

Though the structure in which Shearer was reportedly born on May 18, 1923 no longer stands, the dwelling that replaced it still does. Built by his mother in the late 19th century, it now occupies the spot just in front of the original home.

According to Jamaica National Heritage Trust, much of Shearer’s formative years were spent in Martha Brae. His cousin Desmond Lindo informed the Trust that the former prime minister attended Barracks Elementary School in the community before earning a scholarship to St Simon’s College in Kingston.

Like many boys of his generation, Shearer is said to have embraced the simple pleasures of rural life. His cousin recalled that he played football with friends in the village, swam in the Martha Brae River, and caught freshwater shrimp — memories that painted the backdrop of his early life. Even after rising to national prominence, Lindo recalled, Shearer would often return to the district, maintaining a quiet connection to the place where his journey began.

But now he is barely remembered by the youth in the community who walk the same streets he once trod.

When the Sunday Observer visited the site last Wednesday, a Coaster bus and a few other vehicles were parked casually on the property. There was no visible signage indicating its historical significance or its designation as a heritage site.

In fact, when the Sunday Observer asked for directions, many of the younger residents in Martha Brae seemed unaware of the property’s location or its part in Shearer’s legacy. It was only the elders who could point the way, a quiet testament to how easily history fades when it is neither taught nor remembered.

Despite previously announced plans to refurbish the property and transform it into a museum, the childhood home of the former prime minister remains untouched. The wooden panelling that lines the exterior is now worn by years of exposure to the elements. Loose boards cling to the structure while the yard appears to be a breeding ground for flies that cling to scattered garbage.

On the veranda, a few articles of clothing hang from a makeshift clothes line held together with the help of rusty nails. The house, once painted a bright blue, now shows clear signs of fading, its colour dulled with time. The only hint of vibrancy comes from the patterned white and brown tiles that form a narrow path to the front door. Dust clings thickly to the windows, and rusted iron chairs line the veranda, frozen in place by age and weather.

Perhaps most troubling is the complete lack of security. Situated along the main road between Falmouth and Martha Brae, the property is wide open, with nothing to prevent trespassers from wandering in or damaging what remains of this historic site.