Georgetown - History

Georgetown is the capital of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The City lies at the mouth of the Demerara River on the country's Atlantic Coast, an area approximately fifteen square miles. It was the French who first occupied this area in 1782, and built a simple town where Georgetown stands, today, calling it Longchamps or La Nouville Ville, and set stringent building regulations for private buildings in an attempt to guard against the dangers of flood and fire. All buildings within the limits of the town were required to meet these regulations which included, brick foundations and tiled kitchen areas. In 1783, when it was occupied by the Dutch, the town was renamed Stabroek. At that time, the small town was bordered by two canals, the Croal Street Canal and the Hadfield Street Canal. There was one main dam at that time known as Brickdam. The condition of this town closely resembled those of the Netherlands. These settlers soon adopted measures similar to those used in their homeland to deal with the incursion of the Atlantic to the north and with the water coming from the higher ground to the south.

In 1812, with English occupation, it was renamed Georgetown after the then reigning Sovereign George III. The town began to expand and develop and in the early years thereafter, the following wards were added:

• Robbstown
• Cummingsburg
• Kingston
• Werk-en-Rust

Under the English administration, the town was controlled by a Board of Police. However with the abolition of slavery in 1834, the powers of the Board of Police proved unequal to the new conditions and on 1st March, 1837, an Ordinance was passed to establish a Mayor and Town Council. Under the Municipal and District Councils Act Chapter 28:01, Greater Georgetown came into being on 29th April, 1970. This Act extended the City from 2.5 square miles to 15 square miles, covering Cummings Lodge on the East Coast to Agricola on the East Bank Demerara.

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