Saint Mary – Jolly Beach, one of Antigua's earliest settlements
Saint Mary is home to the Jolly Beach site, the best-known intact Archaic habitation site in Antigua and Barbuda. Radiocarbon dates show people lived here between about 1775 and 1589 BC – some 3,500 to 4,000 years ago. These early inhabitants did not yet make pottery or farm; they lived on local plants and marine resources and made tools of wood, flint, shell and volcanic stone. Similar tools found in South America suggest they came from there, though their name and language remain unknown. The parish was permanently established in 1692. Today the Shekerley Mountains dominate Saint Mary, with Bolans, home to Jolly Harbour, as its largest community. Do you know more stories from Saint Mary? Share them here in Local History!