THOUGH many of Black River’s historic structures now sit in ruin following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, heritage tour operator Allison Morris does not believe the St Elizabeth capital’s rich legacy has been washed away but, instead, deepened by a new chapter of resilience.

As she resumes her historical tours in the wake of the devastating hurricane and amid a wave of comments from individuals expressing regret that they had not experienced the town’s story before the storm struck, she maintains that now, more than ever, Black River’s history must be told.

Black River, one of Jamaica’s oldest towns, was established near the river that bears its name. Designed by the Leyden brothers of England, it evolved into a thriving seaport in the 18th and 19th centuries, prospering from the logwood trade and exports, such as rum, pimento, and cattle skins from nearby estates.

It was the first town in Jamaica to receive electricity, and included within this historic corridor are several landmark structures such as Magdala House, the Invercauld Hotel, Waterloo Guest House, the St Elizabeth Parish Library, the Black River Courthouse, and St John’s Anglican Parish Church, which sustained damage when Hurricane Melissa pummelled sections of the country on October 28, 2025.

“It’s really sad and terrible for a lot of us who have grown up here, when you don’t see the things that you just took for granted that were always there…It’s very significant things that have gone, but to me, it’s even more important now to tell the story because you don’t have that many of the physical reminders,” said Morris.

“Your heritage is still your heritage. It’s just that you might not have the physical markers of it as many are used to, but our history hasn’t spoiled; Hurricane Melissa has added another layer to it. It’s just that a lot of the buildings that we would use to mark and remind us of things, some of them are not there and many of them that are, they are very badly damaged,” she told the Jamaica Observer last Wednesday.

Black River Heritage Tour operator Allison Morris poses for a photo at the St John’s Anglican Parish Church in Black River, the location that starts every tour, which was destroyed by the wrath of Hurricane Melissa.

A retired educator, Morris said she started the Black River Heritage Tour on a part-time basis in 2011, before transitioning to it full-time in 2024. A native of the town, with deep family roots, she explained that the venture was born out of a desire to preserve and share the stories she grew up hearing, ensuring that both residents and visitors remain connected to Black River’s rich past.

Over the years, she said the tour has attracted visitors from across the globe, particularly from European countries like England, Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and Slovakia. Guests have also travelled from the United States, Canada, other Caribbean territories, and various parts of Jamaica to participate in the tour.

Although her business was briefly stalled by the Category Five Melissa, Morris said interest in the tour has been steadily returning. She relaunched the tours with two excursions in late February, and already her calendar is filling up with bookings for the rest of the year.

Morris shared that, initially, the tour was a two-hour walk around the town, but she has since switched to a driving tour, given the repair and clean-up exercises under way.

The drive-through time begins and ends at the stately St John’s Anglican Parish Church. Visitors trace the heartbeat of Black River along High Street to the bridge, pausing at the bustling Black River Market, and discovering the hidden stories woven into the town’s historic streetscape.

“The story of Black River would unfold along the street, but the story did not so much depend on the buildings and where we went. The story was told as we went along with the different buildings on the street as the backdrop,” said Morris.

“It’s not a disaster tour, meaning that I don’t just go and say, ‘Okay, this was here, and now it’s gone.’ You can’t help but say some of that because you see it in the town, but because of where I start, I try to focus a lot on Black River history before, as I used to do in the original format. I focus on things from the 1700s, 1800s, and early 1900s — all the things that made Black River special — because those things are still true. They’re not any less true because Melissa has come and changed the place,” she told the Sunday Observer.

“The truth is, Black River has been through a number of disasters before. I would think this is the worst one, but it has been through terrible fires that burned down half of the town, and they have had to come back. It’s been through terrible hurricanes as well, so we’re a place that’s used to coming back. This one may really take all the reserves we have and all the patience and all the imagination, but I don’t doubt that we will come back,” a hopeful Morris said.

With rebuilding efforts on the horizon, she stressed the need for a deliberate and thoughtful approach that safeguards the architectural character and charm that have long distinguished the town.

“I would like to see us retain a lot of the historic feel of the town, while having better amenities, while having maybe the town more positioned to bring in more people from outside, as tourists, both locals and [those from] overseas, because this is a beautiful place to be enjoyed.

“The idea of just building back all brand new without trying to preserve the little bits of what is still standing and incorporate them into a new design, the idea of just razing everything down for just everything brand new, I think it would make us be a town without character and soul,” Morris declared.

MORRIS…Black River has been through a number of disasters before