History of Fort George
Strengthened with Cotton Tree

On the afternoon of Saturday, 29th April 2000 - membersof the George Town District Committee of the National Trust withthe assistance of Dr. Edlin Merren, Dean Scott and Gwen Johnsonplanted a 20-foot silk cotton tree (kapok) in the rear of theFort George property in George Town.

In attendance was Mr. Reginald Parsons who offered informationon the origin of the kapok tree as well as the history of FortGeorge.
As Mr. Parsons explained, he brought the seeds from Indonesiaand began sprouting them and now has several mature trees thathe is proud of. Inside the silk cotton pods is a material resemblingcotton, which was used to stuff the jackets of the marine officersduring world War II. They were referred to as Mae West jackets.
The first silk cotton tree was at the roadside of Fort George,and in 1943 a look-out hut was mounted on its top branches. Insidethe hut was a bunk for a guard to sleep on. From here guards couldmonitor the West 4harbour area using binoculars. The purpose ofthe Fort was to defend Grand Cayman from attacks by Spanish marauderstravelling from Cuba.
Fort George was one of six lookout posts during World War II.All of the sites were used to monitor the entire coastline inGrand Cayman and were manned by the Home guard which was establishedin 1942.
The George Town District Committee members were pleased to planta new silk cotton tree at Fort George to enhance the historicsite and members of the public are encouraged to visit the siteand read the historic information on the board. Older Caymaniansremember Fort George and enjoy reminiscing about the times theysat there and looked out at the sea.
The Fort George property was acquired by the National Trust forthe Cayman Islands and was declared inalienable in 1987.
Anyone wishing to become involved with the preservation of FortGeorge may contact the following members of the committee: BobHenning, Suzan Merren, Ruthlynn Bodden, Darwin Ebanks, Roger Daviesand Ray Shaver.

Back