Chapelton, Jamaica
Chapelton | |
---|---|
Market Town | |
Coordinates: 18°04′58″N 77°16′01″W / 18.082691°N 77.2669959°W | |
Country | Jamaica |
Parish | Clarendon |
Elevation | 218 m (715 ft) |
Population .[1] | |
• Estimate (2009) | 4,559 |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
Chapelton is a market town in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica and the former parish capital.
Name
According to a longtime resident:[2]
Back in the days of plantation slavery in Jamaica, the Chapleton locality was a plantocracy settlement. Instead of going to church in the capital May Pen, the plantation owners built a church in Chapleton where they worshiped. Local folk therefore talked about going to “the chapel in the town.” After a while, the town became known as Chapel Town but with the passing of time, the name became distorted and was shortened to become Chapelton.
Amenities
- Clarendon College, secondary school.
- Clarendon Hospital, built c1903, now a community Type 3 hospital.[2]
- Police Station.
- St Paul's Anglican Church, founded over 300 years ago.[3]
Transport
Road
Chapelton is on the B3 road which climbs up from May Pen in the south, passes through the center of the town and continues north towards Brown's Town.[4]
Rail
From 1925 to 1974 Chapelton was served by Chapelton railway station on the 21 mile railway branch line from May Pen to Frankfield.[citation needed]
Notable people from Chapelton
- Linton Kwesi Johnson
- Raphael Morgan (Robert Josias Morgan)
- Jah Shaka
- Barrington Levy
- Toots Hibbert
- Freddie McGregor
- Dennis Alcapone
- Everton Blender
- Levi Roots
- Cocoa Tea
See also
References
- ^ "World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 2 September 2009.
- ^ a b Chapelton - An Oral History Archived 21 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Myrel Elaine Moss (Sister Moss), golocaljamaica.com, 2003-01-01.
- ^ Kathy Alison, Picasa, 2009-01-03.
- ^ UK Directorate of Overseas Surveys 1:50,000 map of Jamaica Sheets G & H, 1973.