Chapelton, Jamaica
Chapelton is a market town in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica and the former parish capital.
Chapelton | |
---|---|
Market Town | |
Chapelton | |
Coordinates: 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) |
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.
Notable people from Chapelton
See also
References
- "World Gazetteer". Archived from the original on 2 September 2009.
- 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.