Magdala House, Black River

Magdala House in Black River was constructed by Thomas Leyden in the 1880s to be a residence for entertaining. The name Thomas Leyden may be associated with Leyden and Farquharson Shipping Company, as he and his partner, William Farquharson, were two of the richest men in Jamaica in the 1880s.

Magdala, said to be named after the palace of the ancient Ethiopian Kings, was a two-storey Victorian design building with a wooden superstructure and concrete foundation walls. The windows had coolers, and the liberal use of fretwork on fascias and barge boards gave the house an imposing appearance. The dining room had oak flooring, and the small verandah was tiled with Victorian tiles of mixed brown and yellow shades. Outer board walls were painted and sand-blasted with white sea sand for preservation.

In 1963, the house was purchased from Dr C. D. Johnson by the Roman Catholic Church and was used as an orphanage under the auspices of the Church. Magdala House was declared a national monument on the 13th of September 1990.

In October 2025, Magdala House was destroyed by Hurricane Melissa.