History:

This area of Vermont was largely uninhabited in early history and used by native peoples primarily for hunting and fishing. Early travel routes passed through the Jamaica area, beginning at the Connecticut River and following the West River. Called “Wantastiquit” (in the Algonkian language “top place of the river”) is a reference to the fact that the West River makes a major contribution to the Connecticut. These routes followed the rivers across the mountains eventually to Otter Creek and north to Lake Champlain.

In the colonial period, what is now Vermont was disputed territory, with land claims rising from both New York and New Hampshire. The original grants for this area were issued by the Royal Governor of New York in 1767 and 1772 and were for two towns. In 1777 the Independent Republic of Vermont was established and in 1780, ignoring the previous grants, gave charter for “a tract of vacant land within this state which has not heretofore been granted “. The Charter goes on to say “that the same be and is hereby Incorporated into a Township by the name of Jamaica”. The grant encompassed forty-two square miles. The land lies at an altitude ranging from 688 above sea level along the West River to 2,542 feet on The Pinnacle. There were sixty-seven grantees listed on the Charter, and many of those names can be found among Jamaica’s residents today.

The earliest settlement of the town was along the West River near the Wardsboro Bridge, now called East Jamaica. It was here that the first school was established in 1791. The step-by-step building of roads and bridges pointing towards Manchester to the northwest moved settlement westward so that by 1800 it appeared that the town center was moving. Within the forty-two square-mile township of Jamaica there developed as many as ten separate hamlets surrounded by outlying farms, all linked to Jamaica Village by a network of roads. Eventually there were as many as 14 one-room schools which served the families in the outlying areas.
In the first quarter of the 19th century Jamaica Village assumed increasing importance as a center, largely for topographical reasons. Located near the confluence of the West River and Ball Mountain Brook, the area offered a strategic location for bridges, dams and mills. Along Ball Mountain Brook alone there were numerous dams, each providing power for at least one mill. The first store “Noon House” was built in 1803. The popularity of “Noon House” led to the building in 1814 of Jamaica House, which provided a convenient overnight spot for travelers at the mid-point between Manchester and Brattleboro.