Saint Paul, Antigua and Barbuda: History
The parishes are the highest administrative units of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. The main church of this parish was today's church of St. Paul's Rectory in Falmouth. Falmouth was the first part of Antigua to be settled by the British, in 1632. Governor Warner resided close to Falmouth Bay by 1640. The village was settled by English people. Falmouth was the same size of the rising St. John's City in 1689.
Historically, the parish was divided into the Falmouth Division (Falmouth, today's Liberta and Swetes) with the "Ten Acres Lands" (state property around English Harbour, which was allotted for small farms), Rendezvous Bay Division (the western mountain country behind Rendezvous Bay) and the Willoughby Bay Division (around Bethesda). The former and the western parts of the Willoughby Bay Division were also confirmed to be part of the parish in 1873 under the Parish Boundaries Act.
After the abolition of slavery in 1834, the first freed settlement was created here was Liberta. The community was founded in 1834 and was given the name "Liberty". The community was founded due to many liberated Black Antiguans having an interest in land ownership. Owners charged $30 for 30 by 50-foot property lots. Many built two-room houses. The Hamlet, a cluster of houses close to Liberta that was formerly part of the Tyrells property, was eventually absorbed into Liberta after 1842. The region was particularly affected by the great earthquake in 1843, to the extent that there were several migrations, especially to Freetown. Around 1856 the parish included the estates of Blakes, Bodkins, Burkes, Cochranes, Delaps, Folly, Laroaches, Lucas, Mathews, Morris Loobys, Pattersons, Richmonds, Thomas, Tyrrells, Willis', Rendezvous Bay, Buckshorns and the already abandoned Barters and Dimsdales– most of the farms existed until the 1950s– some to today. These farms envolved into the nucleuses of places such as English Harbour, Falmouth, The Ridge, Victoria, Bethesda, Grace Hill, Liberta, Buckshorns, Edwards, Sweets, Jenny Bush, Spring Hill, Bailey Hill and Ding-a-Dong-Nook.
The mid-south around Falmouth Bay and Shirley Heights is one of the tourist centers of Antigua, otherwise the area is farmland, once for tobacco plantations, then for sugarcane plantations. Today, agricultural products of all kinds are produced. The population increased by 3.6% between 2001 and 2011, with population growth well below the national average of 11.3%.