The Cherry Garden Great House, located in the parish of St Andrew, Jamaica, is a significant historical site that links Jamaica to important figures in both Jamaican and North American history. This estate was home to George William Gordon, one of Jamaica’s National Heroes, and long before him, it was tied to Jonathan Dickinson, a prominent businessman who eventually became the mayor of Philadelphia. Jonathan Dickinson was the brother-in-law of Mary Gomersall, the wife of Ezekiel Gomersall, who was the original owner of the house.
The Cherry Garden Great House sits on about 2 acres of land, a small portion of what was once a 300-acre sugar plantation. Ezekiel Gomersall, who lived from 1663 to 1734, was a powerful figure in Jamaica, owning a vast number of slaves and overseeing the infamous trial of the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Over a period of 20 years, from 1694 to 1714, Gomersall expanded the plantation by purchasing additional parcels of land. Today, the house is sur…
