Saint Mary Parish  

There are a few traces of Taíno/Arawak presence in the parish. Saint Mary was also one of the first sections of the island to be occupied by the Spaniards. Puerto Santa Maria, later Port Maria, was the second town the Spaniards built on the island. In 1655, after the English captured Jamaica from the Spanish, the area around the north coast town of Santa Maria became known as St. Mary, with the chief town called Port Maria.
There are indications of strong resistance to slavery in the parish. The Easter Rebellion led by Tacky in 1760 and the existence of the Maroons at Scotts Hall showed that the parish was one of the most active in the fights for freedom. Its present size was determined in 1867, when the parish of Metcalfe was merged with St Mary.
One of the largest landowners in Saint Mary at the turn of the 20th Century was Blanche Blackwell, mother of Chris Blackwell. Blanche sold plots of land from Oracabessa to Port Maria to her coterie of friends, including playwright Noel Coward, U.S. Ambassador Ruth Bryan Owen, and James Bond author Ian Fleming. Noel Coward's Firefly Estate is designated as a National Historic site,[4] and overlooks St. Mary harbour. It was once owned by the infamous pirate and one-time governor of Jamaica, Sir Henry Morgan who used it as a lookout,[5] complete with a secret escape tunnel to Port Maria.
In the 1990s, the Island Outpost Corporation developed one of St. Mary's best-known tourist attractions, the James Bond Beach club. James Bond Beach was featured in the James Bond film, Dr. No and the facility includes a concert pavillion as well as a large bar/restaurant.

Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 115,000 [1] it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast. It is also the birthplace of established dancehall reggae artists, such as Capleton, Lady Saw, Ninja Man, Sizzla and Tanya Stephens. Other notable residents of St. Mary parish include bestselling author Colin Simpson, who is the great-great grandson[2] of noted slavery abolitionist James Phillippo, and acclaimed music producer Chris Blackwell who is credited with "discovering" Bob Marley