2d – St Catherine & Clarendon - Gibb, Cooper and the Spanish Town Liberty Tree

Spanish Town was Jamaica’s capital until 1872 and the home of the second church which was established by the Ethiopian Baptists.  Come with us as we take you on a tour of Jericho Baptist Church, established by George Gibb and the only thus far known female leader, Miss Cooper.  See its ornate building and learn how it was the sending church of the first African Jamaican missionaries to Africa.

We will visit Phillippo Baptist Church, founded by African American George Gibb and  home to the only known Liberty Tree still in tact on the island. In Spanish Town we will also visit the old Governor’s Residence where the Emancipation Proclamation was read out in 1838 before journeying through a free town, land and homes bought by freed Africans, before visiting Kitson Town Baptist Church.

The land on which Kitson Town Baptist Church stands was dormant plantation. The church was erected at the request of enslaved Africans who wanted a place to worship.