Located at the mouth of Port Antonio’s harbor are the ruins of a crumbling mansion that had once been one of the most opulent on the island. A popular local story claims that it was built by an American as a gift to his future wife, but as he was in a hurry to complete the house, he used cement mixed with salt water, weakening the material and causing the mansion to disintegrate soon after completion. When the new wife saw how the place was already decaying, she said “What a folly!” and left her husband the mansion to crumble – like their love. The real story is that an American visited Port Antonio with his wife in the early 1900s and bought the land, which had already been known as Folly Point for 120 years before they came. They built an extravagant mansion, complete with electric lights, running water, a sauna, and peacocks and monkeys kept on the property. The couple lived there until 1911 when the husband died; the wife left for the U.S. when WWI broke out. The property was then abandoned, and because the cement foundation had indeed been mixed with seawater, it collapsed into ruin. The monkeys from the estate eventually moved on to nearby Wood Island where they thrived; the island is now known to locals as Monkey Island.

In case you missed any of the past “365 Things to Do, See and Eat in Jamaica“, here they are all together.

About 365 Things to Do, See and Eat in Jamaica
Jamaica has so many unique foods, places and events to offer. These things are often missed by visitors to Jamaica and even locals. Our goal is to have you try new things and see what Jamaica has to fully offer with something to do 365 days of the year. Please note that these are all our opinions and we are always open to suggestions.

Photo Source: Tae Tae