Hannah Town – more downs than ups

My grandfather, Peter Bernard Thomas (1878-1952) and his wife, Emerline Adina Thomas (1881-1969), lived in Hannah Town for most of their lives through its cycles of ups and downs. My father, Samuel Thomas (1904-1977), grew up there. From all indications, Peter Thomas, a carpenter and employee of the Jamaica Public Service Company on Orange Street, owned his home there at 26 Gurling Street. I recall going on a Sunday with my father to visit his ageing stepmother in Hannah Town. Today, through redevelopment projects, Gurling Street no longer exists.

In the beginning

Hannah Town was established in 1815 by Scotsman John Hannah, who some sources described as a Jewish merchant. It is recorded that he was born in 1761 in Scotland and was linked to the Hannahfield estate in Dumfries. His parents were Robert Hannah (1731-1799) and his wife, Agnes Blount (1724-1798).

Hannah is said to have made his money in the British West Indies (BWI). It is reported that he spent his earlier life there, spending time in Jamaica where he had a property in St Andrew called Hannah’s Pen. This property was subdivided and lots sold to form the community/township, initially, it seems, called New Town and later known as Hannah’s Town. Street names in Hannah Town recall this original owner. So, there are Hannah Street and Blount Street.

John Hannah seems to have been associated with planter/merchant William Rae (1762-1837), also from Dumfries in Scotland, who established Rae Town. It seems money was being made from property subdivision and lot sales.

Hannah returned to Scotland and died there in 1841, at age 80. He had no children and did not leave a will.

The township

Hannah Town was a first housing subdivision in the parish of St Andrew. In 1867, the parish boundaries were redrawn, putting it in Kingston. On later maps, however, Hannah Town is still in St Andrew.

From road maps, the boundaries of Hannah Town are roughly Orange Street in the east, Studley Park Road and environs in the north, North Street in the south, and over towards Spanish Town Road in the west. Hannah Town is between the Kingston Public Hospital and, now, the Blood Bank.

From 1815 to 1838 when emancipation came, the residents or lot holders of Hannah Town were free black people who were artisans, and possibly jobbing slaves. This was apparently a well laid out subdivision targeting the working class. Lots were still being sold into the 1860s and ‘70s.

In 1878, residents of Hannah Town were complaining about noise nuisance in the community and calling on the police to act. A police station was located in the area. From then into the 1880s, the township was reported as having descended into slum condition with tenements. It was described as lawless, depressed, and ramshackle.

St John’s Presbyterian (United) Church

In 1884, Rev. Alexander Robb oversaw the establishment of St John’s Presbyterian Church (Scots Kirk), later United, at Upper Rose Lane. Recall that John Hannah, who established Hannah Town, was from Scotland. The Presbyterian Church is the national Church of Scotland. The church was destroyed in the 1907 earthquake, was rebuilt in 1909, and further renovated in 1959.

By 1889, Hannah Town’s notoriety had grown. It is reported that Reverend Samuel R. Braithwaite of St John’s Presbyterian Church was credited with aiding its upliftment into a middle class community. In the 1890s, he helped to organise the community to address a cholera threat. Rev Braithwaite served at St John’s for 21 years (1889-1910) before demitting office.

Decline resuming

In 1907, when my grandfather, Peter Thomas, married Emerline Adina Beckford, they lived in New Town/Hannah’s Town. Interestingly, an Elizabeth Thomas is seen owning property in Hannah Town in the 1870s. Peter and Emerline Thomas, with their son, continued living there.

In 1919, a house in Hannah Town cost £45 (about J$452,000 today). In 1924, a four apartment house on Gurling Street was being sold for £135 (now about J$1.5 million). In the 1930s and ‘40s, properties there were being sold regularly. At this time, the condition of Hannah Town was assessed as fair, compared to some other communities.

In 1928, £500 was allocated to buy 2 lots at Hannah Street for the construction of a new police station, as the existing one was dilapidated.

By 1932, complaints were recorded about the deplorable state of New Town/Hannah Town, calling on the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) Council, through Representative P. S. Harrison, to address the poor road conditions, lack of sanitation, water and light. Hannah Town’s downward spiral was continuing, even with some infrastructure upgrades.

Like other communities in Kingston and St Andrew, Hannah Town has been affected by informality, rural-urban migration, migration to other parts of St Andrew, as other housing lots opened up, and by migration overseas. The community of Hannah Town is now considered a lower income inner city and has been ravaged by crime and political polarisation.

In 1978, Reverend Maitland Evans, through St John’s Church, established the Mel Nathan Institute to encourage the development of Hannah Town. The Mel Nathan Preparatory School was established in 1993 for the benefit of children in the area. In 2018, it was merged with Chetolah Park Primary School, founded in the area in 1908, to form the Chetolah Mel Nathan Educational Centre. Rev Evans had continued the effort to achieve the social and economic upliftment of Hannah Town. It appears that that dream of Rev Evans and others has not been realised.

The nearly 80-year-old police station on Hannah Street was firebombed in the 2010 incursion and has not been rebuilt. The community remains quite volatile.

Today, property prices in Hannah Town are depressed and a dilapidated house on a small lot may not sell for much, about $3 million, if sold at all.

In the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s 2020 Community Renewal Report, it is estimated that, then, Hannah Town had a population of just under 4,000 people with about half under the age of 30. It appears that there have been several redevelopment plans for Hannah Town since 1980. According to reporting, the properties in sections such as the former Gurling and French streets were acquired by government from the residents/owners for redevelopment, leading to distrust and discontent. The houses were demolished and replaced by low-income high-rise apartment buildings.

Hannah Town, now 210 years old, remains in need of further development to remove it from a state of social and economic inertia. Yet, like my grandfather and his wife, today, there are still people who are long-term residents of Hannah Town, who want to see their community improved.

-Prepared by Marcia E. Thomas, history enthusiast and member of the Jamaica Historical Society and Built Heritage Jamaica