How did Flagaman get its name?

Mark Titus, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

On any visit to Flagaman in St Elizabeth, there are contrasting versions as to how the community got its name.

Vegetable farmer, Ian Bent, who has lived in the community all his life, says he was told that Flagaman was so named as a result of a physical rivalry with a neighbouring community.

"I understand that the men from that district would clash with the men from Flagaman and would get a solid flogging every time," he said. "But what they were fighting for, I don't have any idea."

Fifty-seven-year-old Helton Blackwood was more hesitant.

"I have heard so many stories, but the most popular one would be that a young man from another area fell in love with a young lady from our community, but each time he came to see her, he got a beating."

Even if any of these episodes were true, this is a feature of the past as Flagaman exudes a warm and inviting atmosphere.

"We live like one family here," Blackwood added. "We can sleep with our doors open. Nothing like that (crime) has happened since I was born."

An investigation by Western Focus failed to give support to the stories of the men from Flagaman. But according to the website keepitjiggy.com, the community was named by a British Admiral Ebanks. He had settled above Great Bay in Pedro Plains and named the area after his ship, The Flagaman Escania.