Development Out of all the parishes (with the exception of
Kingston Parish and
Saint Andrew Parish) Saint Catherine shows the most potential for urban development. With its good water resources, virtually flat landscape, and nearness to the capital, it could possibly be one of the Caribbean's major urban areas in the next few years.
Agriculture Agriculture remains the main source of
employment in the parish. There are many small farmers who practice mixed farming;
crops such as
bananas,
coconuts,
pineapple,
citrus,
pumpkins,
peppers,
coffee and
callaloo are planted for both domestic and commercial purposes. The larger properties produce
sugar cane,
bananas and
citrus mainly for export. Dairy farms are also found in the parish. One of these is a
farm in Old Harbour. The Salt Ponds District between Spanish Town, Port Henderson and Passage Fort is noted for the fine fish especially calipers.
Manufacturing St Catherine is second only to Kingston as an industrial center. Industrial plants are some of the biggest employers in the parish.
Spanish Town has the largest salt producing plant in the Caribbean, while Jamaica Milk Products, an affiliate of the
Nestlé organization, has a factory in
Bog Walk, another major town in the parish. The largest
power plant in the island and several factories are located in Old Harbour. Twickenham Park, near
Spanish Town, is another industrial estate with mainly light industries including
cigarettes,
carpets,
batteries,
ackee,
plastic items,
medical and
pharmaceutical products.
Tourist sites • Jamaica's
emancipation Square can be found in Spanish Town. This is the only
Georgian square in
Jamaica. Kings House and the
House of Assembly on the west and east sides, respectively, were erected in 1762. The
Courthouse was built in 1819 and used as a
chapel and
armory with the Town Hall upstairs. • The Rio Cobre River and
Gorge is one of the largest in the island. Sinking at a place called River Sink at Worthy Park, it runs underground for nearly six kilometres, then surfaces at River Head Grand
Cave in St Thomas-in-the-Vale. Before entering the
gorge it is joined by a number of
tributaries, such as the Thomas River, the Rio D'Oro and the Rio Pedro. In the early 1770s, a road was opened through the gorge. The
Flat Bridge was originally constructed of
logs, which were washed away in a flood. The present bridge was built and it has withstood countless floods. A marker can be found, which shows where the water rose to over above the bridge in 1933. An apocryphal story is that at noon, on every
Good Friday, for a short period of time the
ghosts of all the slaves who drowned in the river can be seen. • Caymanas Race Track, Jamaica's most famous race track, is in St Catherine. • St Clair Cave, one of Jamaica's more famous caves, is found in the parish. This large, complex cave contains one of the most notable bat roosts on the island, and is one of the few known historical sites for the possibly extinct bat,
Phyllonycteris aphylla. Because of the biological importance of the system, and the inherent dangers involved in exploring it (i.e. noxious gases,
histoplasmosis,
Cutaneous larva migrans, difficult footing), casual visitation is discouraged. • Hellshire Beach is located on the south coast of Jamaica in St. Catherine Parish about 20 minutes away from Kingston. Not a tourist spot due to its distance from major hotels. ==Government and infrastructure==