Westmoreland Parish – the Ciboney cave dwellers of Negril
Westmoreland's earliest inhabitants were the Ciboney and Arawak peoples. The Ciboney arrived first, from the coast of South America, around 500 BC; known as cave dwellers, they lived along the cliffs of Negril, where caves and passageways are among the earliest known Ciboney settlements in Jamaica.
Columbus stopped here on his second voyage, and one of the first Spanish settlements was built at present-day Bluefields. After the English took over in 1655, colonists named the parish Westmoreland in 1703, as it lay at the island's western end, and in 1730 Savanna-la-Mar became its capital. Today Westmoreland is known for Negril's beaches. Have a Westmoreland story? Share it with the community!