Jamaican Allspice Farm - Rockingham Estate

LandandFarm.com

“I’m 70 years old, and this memory has stuck with me. I was six, walking on the dirt road, feeling the gravel under my feet, walking at night, and looking up at the sky and it was shining just as bright as if there were electric bulbs, but there weren’t. There was not that much electricity on the island...”

Jamaica often inspires images of rum drinking and calypso music, but beyond the cerulean sea and the legions of palm trees, on the northwest corner of the island, sits Rockingham Estate; a hilltop farmer’s paradise of fruit bearing trees, beautiful vistas and natural serenity. Here images are actual memories passed between two living generations of the Charles Buchanan family; images of over 112 years of life in a simpler, more natural state of being.

Rockingham Estate resides in the Parish of Hanover, which was established in 1723. At one time the most prosperous of all the parishes on the island, Hanover featured a large cattle rearing industry, sugar cane estates, factories and a busy wharf in the capital of Lucea. It is now home to several luxury hotels, including Tryall and Round Hill, two favorite destinations among the well-to-do.

The property of Rockingham Estate lies approximately 45 minutes southwest of Montego Bay, 30 minutes northeast of Negril, and 20 minutes from the town of Lucea, an old maritime town and famous sea-port where sailors spent brief periods before setting sail to other ports. With three access roads leading up to the property, this 250-acre estate rises as a jewel in the crown of the island. As you crest the hill, the expanse of grasses, cedar, mahogany, pine forests and fruit trees of all kinds sweeps down to your right. On your left is the sea, breath-taking and clear as only the Caribbean can be, with the sweet town of Lucea set upon its banks. The sun fills your face with warmth as you breathe in the delicious scent of mango, cedar and pine. And finally, as your breathing quiets, you can hear the melody of Rockingham, the one unique quality that makes living and working on this parcel of farmland most rare and precious; you hear nothing except the breeze through the trees.

Charles Buchanan, a simple farmer who was willing to grow whatever crop would sustain life, purchased the land in 1890, and for unknown reasons named it “Rockingham.” 

Over a century later, his granddaughter Connie Cole (the current land owner), and her daughters remember fondly growing up on the island, and playing in their family’s fields. They describe a slower, peaceful pace of life that is characteristic of the area even today.

“Near to Rockingham, I remember the one room schoolhouse called Dalmally, it was also the Anglican Church as well as the school and everyone in the town went there,” recounts Michelle Woodson, Connie’s - daughter. “My mother also attended the school, and believe it or not, Dalmally still operates as a one room schoolhouse and church today. That is just the small town kind of life that exists there.”

The main crop harvested on the estate was pimento. “I remember these people from Rockingham coming with many thick sacks of pimento (these little round balls) and putting the pimento onto these corrugated sinks, and drying them for I don’t know how many days,” recalls Michelle. “Grandmother would over see them and make sure they weren’t in the rain, then we would take the pimento to market locally and sell it as it is commonly known: allspice.”

The land, which has been in their family for 112 years, harvested more than allspice, mango, papaya, cocoa, tumeric, breadfruit as well as other crops and cattle. The most valuable harvest from Rockingham has been the memories that the family has carried with them for generations. Catching crayfish in the two natural springs that run on the farm, boiling them with wild Scotch Bonnet Pepper (a.k.a. Habeñero in Latin America), and sleeping under the intense wattage of a West Indian star-filled sky.

Today Rockingham Estate is bordered by overgrown farmland and a forest reserve owned by the government of Jamaica. It features no improvements, and therefore no electricity, gas or running water -. Rockingham is zoned as farmland. As Connie and her family would tell you, it is a treasure trove of natural resources and beauty just waiting to be tamed. 

When asked what she envisions for Rockingham in the future, Connie’s voice fills with excitement as she lists her ideas: a retirement community where people want solitude and the pleasure of growing crops, harvesting coffee, allspice or some other bounty of the land. No matter the idea, there is one main concept that Connie and her family speaks passionately about: the peace, beauty and absolute gift that is Rockingham.