Saint George, Antigua and Barbuda

Parish of Saint George
Parish
(from top: left to right) Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, V.C. Bird International Airport, Reef Balls on Maiden Island, Dutchman Bay
Location of Parish of Saint George
CountryAntigua and Barbuda
Pre-establishment entityDivision of New North Sound
EstablishmentJanuary 22, 1725; 299 years ago (1725-01-22) (old style)
February 5, 1725; 299 years ago (1725-02-05) (new style)
CapitalFitches Creek
Largest cityPiggotts
Government
 • MPsAlgernon Watts, Vacant, Charles Fernandez
Population
 (2018)
 • Total
8,817[1]
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)

Saint George, officially the Parish of Saint George, is a parish of Antigua and Barbuda on the island of Antigua. Saint George borders Saint Peter to the southeast, and Saint John to the west and south. Saint George is mostly farmland and savanna in the south, dense forest in the Blackman's Peninsula area, marshland in the Fitches Creek area, and dense forest in the northwest. It is the smallest parish in Antigua and Barbuda, and the parish capital is Fitches Creek. The largest city in the parish is Piggotts. Saint George is the newest parish, splitting from the parish of Saint Peter in 1725.[2] It had an estimated population of 8,817 in 2018.[3]

Saint George is the most prosperous parish in the country, with the communities of Fitches Creek and Coolidge being classified as one of the six neighbourhoods in the country to have high-income status in 2008.[4] The neighbourhoods of Fitches Creek, Coolidge, Airport all had the top fifteen living conditions indexes in 2008.[5] Saint George's prosperity has been the result of having one of the most modern airports in the Caribbean, V. C. Bird International Airport, the headquarters of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, Camp Blizzard, multiple universities such as the American University of Antigua and the Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology, the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, and the former Antigua Air Station. This economic prosperity is spread throughout the parish, with both the northern region of the parish, and the southern region, having important and modern facilities.[6][7][8]

Long Island and Maiden Island are legally parts of the parish of Saint George, however, statistically, the three residents on Long Island in 2011 were counted as living in Saint Peter, and politically, Long Island and Maiden Island are sometimes considered parts of the St. Peter constituency.[9]

Saint George does not have many tourist attractions and beaches, and instead generates much of its revenue from the V.C. Bird International Airport, the only airport in Antigua, and the 20,000-capacity Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, which co-hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Due to the many international universities hosted in Saint George, Saint George has a large international student population. Due to Saint George hosting Antigua's only airport, Saint George also hosts the only air-links into Barbuda and Montserrat.[10][11]

The Division of New North Sound, which is now the only division in Saint George, split from Saint Peter with the primary objective of providing for their parish church and having their own parish vestry. Historically, the majority of the parish's lands were used for agricultural purposes. Numerous historical relics from the parish can still be seen today, including the Blackman's[12] and Judge Blizzard's plantations.[13]

  1. ^ "Antigua and Barbuda 2018 Labour Force Survey Report" (PDF). statistics.gov.ag. Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance, Antigua and Barbuda. October 2020.
  2. ^ The Laws of the Island of Antigua: Consisting of the Acts of the Leeward Islands, Commencing 8th November 1690, Ending 21st April 1798; and the Acts of Antigua, Commencing 10th April 1668, Ending 7th May 1804. Strand, London: Samuel Bagster. 1805.
  3. ^ "Antigua and Barbuda 2018 Labour Force Survey Report" (PDF). statistics.gov.ag. Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance, Antigua and Barbuda. October 2020.
  4. ^ "Antigua and Barbuda Household ICT Survey" (PDF).
  5. ^ "Antigua and Barbuda CPA Main Report, Volume I" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Grounds, North Sound, Antigua news, scores and venue information | West Indies cricket grounds". Windies. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Home". American University of Antigua. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  8. ^ https://www.abiit.edu.ag/ [bare URL]
  9. ^ www.abec.gov.ag http://www.abec.gov.ag/registration/constituencies.php. Retrieved 15 October 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ "FlyMontserrat - Schedule". www.flymontserrat.com. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  11. ^ "BMN Air Online Booking". booknow.antigua-flights.com. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Blackman's/Mount Lucie – Antigua Sugar Mills". Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Judge Blizzard's (Blizard) – Antigua Sugar Mills". Retrieved 15 October 2023.