Bath Botanical Gardens

Bath Botanic Garden was established in 1779 as a result of a statute of the Jamaica House of Assembly. It is believed to be the second oldest in the Western Hemisphere. The oldest is on the island of St. Vincent and was established in 1755. Land for the garden was designated when the town of Bath came into existence. The botanical garden was created for both recreational and economic purposes. However, many medicinal plants were also planted. The garden was a place of relaxation for visitors who came to use the Bath Mineral Spa. The garden was supervised by a superintendent. The first was Dr. Thomas Clarke, who at the time of his appointment was a physician at the Bath Hospital. Later, the garden and the hospital came under the care of Dr. Thomas Dancer, the then island botanist.

The creation of the garden resulted in the introduction of foreign plants into the island. Some of which were subsequently planted elsewhere in the country as the garden served as a nursery. These included cinnamon, jackfruit, croton, jacaranda and bougainvillea. However, the most important plant introduced was the breadfruit, which has become a Jamaican staple. Some of these plants were brought to Jamaica by Captain Bligh in 1793 on the HMS Providence. In 1782, a French ship was captured by Rodney, and its cargo, which included many economic plants was planted here.

The Bath Botanic Garden began to decline after repeated flooding by the Sulphur River and the creation of the Castleton Botanic Garden, St. Mary in 1860.