Petersfield, Jamaica

Petersfield is a small town in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. It shares its name with five other places in Jamaica.[2]

Petersfield
Hamlet
Petersfield
Coordinates: 18.261876°N 78.0688906°W / 18.261876; -78.0688906
CountryJamaica
ParishWestmoreland
Founded18th century
Named forPeter Beckford
Population
 • Estimate 
(2009)
2,252
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)

The town was founded in the 18th century and named after Peter Beckford, a slave owner who settled the Roaring River Estate.[3] Petersfield was a dormitory community for workers on that estate.

To the south of the town's main junction lies the neighborhood locally referred to as "Carawina." The records of Carawina being operated as a plantation go as far back as 1759. At that time the first recorded owner of Carawina was Joseph Williams.[4] In 1764, John Wedderburn of Ballendean was listed as an associated planter of the estate.[5] This is the same Wedderburn who was a litigant in the Knight v. Wedderburn court case.[5]

Today Petersfield is one street town with a community health centre at one end and a cemetery at the other. It is the home of many of the workers at the Frome Sugar Estate.

The reggae artist Winston Hubert McIntosh was born in Petersfield, and later on, when he lived in Jamaica's capital Kingston, he changed his name to Peter McIntosh (Peter Tosh).

References
  1. "World Gazetteer - Jamaica - Petersfield". Stefan Helders. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  2. Higman, B W; Hudson (2009). Jamaican Place Names. B J (1st ed.). Mona, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-976-640-217-4.
  3. "Petersfield". Jamaica Tourist Board. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  4. Carawina [1] [ Jamaica | Westmoreland ]', Legacies of British Slave-ownership database, http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/estate/view/1604 [accessed 21 December 2017]
  5. John Wedderburn of Balindean', Legacies of British Slave-ownership database, http://wwwdepts-live.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146634306 [accessed 21 December 2017].6
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