Grosspoint
La Grosse Pointe/Grossepoint | |
|---|---|
Estate and Village | |
 Grosspoint circled on a map of Saint John and Saint Mark parishes in Grenada. | |
| Nickname: The Big/large point | |
| Established | C. 1758 |
Grosspoint estate (Also known as “La Grosse Pointe”, “Grossepoint” and “Gros Point”)[1][2] is an estate and small village situated in Saint Mark’s parish, Grenada,[3][4] near to Maran and L’Esperance.[5][6][7]
History
The first record of Grosspoint was in 1763, where the site was 40 acres and produced coffee and grassland.[8] It is presumed that the site was first named during the French occupation of the island from 1649 to 1763, due to the name being French in origin.[9] The name means “The big point” in English.[10] It was included in the map of Grenada in the West Indies atlas by Thomas Jeffreys, cartographer for the King (published in 1775) where it is named “La Grosse Pointe”.[2] The estate grew by 1780 to a size of 192 acres and was producing cocoa as well as coffee. It appears the estate had some relationship with the rebels of the Fédon revolt because it was confiscated by the British crown in 1797 and sold/given to a man called David McEwen, who is first mentioned as owning the property in 1817. In the 1800s the estate contained 79-75 enslaved people (male and female).[8] The estate ceased production around 1824 and the slaves were transported to neighbouring Duquesne and Bon Air estates.[8] However by emancipation the estate still existed (now dwindled to the “point” part beside the sea) and was operating as a small farm with a family home, being listed on the 1899 revision of the Department of the War Office‘s map of Grenada.[11][12]
There was a small house on the cliff’s edge part of the estate which was made in the 1800s and dismantled in the 1990s, it was constructed of Greenheart wood. There are a couple of other buildings on the other side of Palmiste lane, due to the land being a small settlement.[3]
Geography
The current Grosspoint farm/estate is at the edge of the road (Palmiste lane) which heads from Gouyave to Victoria, on a cliff’s edge (known as a “Falez” in the local Grenadian French Creole),[9] It is 85 metres above sea level.[13] The sea from Gouyave to Grosspoint is now a protected fish sanctuary.[14]
References
- ^ "Sailing in Grenada". www.gang-gang.net. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b "Caribmap - A cartographic history of Caribbean islands". caribmap.org. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ a b "St Mark - Grenada National Trust". 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Gros Point (Grospoint) Map, Weather and Photos - Grenada: point - Lat:12.1833 and Long:-61.7167". www.getamap.net. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "L'Esperance (Lesperance) Map, Weather and Photos - Grenada: populated place - Lat:12.1833 and Long:-61.7". www.getamap.net. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Tageo map index".
- ^ a b c "UCL legacies of slavery".
- ^ a b La Grenade-Lashley, Marise (2016). Mwen Ka Alé [“I am going”]. Aventine Press. pp. 60, 96.
- ^ "Places in Grenada with french names". WikiGrenada. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ https://www.bada.org/sites/default/files/object/2020-09-02/12871_1H.jpg [bare URL image file]
- ^ "One of the most detailed maps of Grenada published in the nineteenth century | BADA". www.bada.org. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ "Gros Point point, , Saint Mark, Grenada". gd.geoview.info. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
- ^ Campbell, Curlan (2018-10-24). "Gouyave fish sanctuary to reverse depletion of fish stock | NOW Grenada". Retrieved 2025-12-16.
