Fort Haldane

Built in 1759, Fort Haldane once protected the town of Port Maria, which was a major shipping port. The guns, some of which can still be seen, were strategically positioned, giving a clear view of the harbour. Named after General George Haldane, then Governor of Jamaica, the fort was one of several built as a means of defence against rival European states which had an interest in plundering the island.

On Easter Monday in 1760, Fort Haldane was raided by Tacky, an escaped enslaved African on the Frontier Estate and his followers who wanted freedom. They killed the shopkeeper and stole four barrels of gunpowder, forty muskets and a supply of cannonballs. The group then went through the plantations in the area, killing the surprised or sleeping white settlers. By dawn, hundreds of enslaved people had joined Tacky and his followers in the fight for freedom. Soldiers from here led the search to capture Tacky and his men and brutally suppressed the uprising.

In 1872, the War Department transferred the ownership to the government. It was then sold to Gray’s Charity, named in memory of John William Gray, a merchant in the town and vestry member of the parish, for £250. Gray had willed £500 for the construction of a place for the benefit of the poor of the parish.

Fort Haldane was declared a national monument by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust on June 19, 2000.