Mavis Bank

Mavis Bank, one of Jamaica’s earliest coffee estates, was once part of a larger parcel owned by Jacob Stoakes. Mavis Bank came into being when 133 acres of the Stoakes land was granted to John Nixon in 1773. The Mavis Bank estate had grown to 302 acres by 1808. It passed though various hands from it’s inception until it was subdivided in1841, including ownership by an absentee owner. The first reference to coffee production at Mavis Bank is in 1788 when it produced just over 13,000 lbs of coffee. Interestingly the last crop mentioned is in 1821, in an amount of 7,012 lbs. After this it appears that the estate overseer rented out the slaves to other planters. Mavis Bank, being one of the earlier coffee plantations is one of the first to experience a decline in production as well. The exact reasons for this may never be known as coffee was in strong demand, but the time period suggests that the coffee trees may have been reaching the end of the their lifespan of 30 to 40 years (if well cared for) and needed replacing.

After the division of the estate in 1841 and 1842, the land was further divided and eventually the estate became a village, and remains one of the principal towns of the upland portion of the parish of St. Andrew.