History

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Belize City was probably settled by Peter Wallace when he landed at the mouth of the Haulover Creek in 1638.

Fort George was constructed in 1803 on the island later named Fort George Island as a defense for Belize City.^[1][2]

Bridge 18, constructed in 1859 was the first bridge connecting the Settlement 356 and Settlement 357 of Belize Town and was also the first bridge in British Honduras.^[3]

In 1922 the government planned to develop Fort George. A contract was given to the Jefferson Construction Company of the United States . For a sum of $BH300,000,000 the company, between 1922 and 1924, completely filled in the strait, making Fort George Island one with the city. A concrete wall surrounded the island, and a mound at the tip was made with a high groyne to form Memorial Park , in honour of the dead of the first world war. In 1926 Baron Bliss came to Belize City and died on his yacht in the harbour. He left his fortune to the Colony, and his tomb was placed at the point, with a lighthouse beside it. In 1952 the Colonial Development Corporation built the Fort George Hotel on a site reserved for that purpose, and a United Kingdom grant assisted in the construction of the head quarters of the British Honduras Volunteer Guard.^[4]

Under Chapter 118 of the Consolidated Laws of 1924, a partly nominated and partly elected Town Board was established. This town board also functioned as a District Board and thus administered Settlement 299, Settlement 47 and Ambergris Caye.^[5]

New customs offices were erected at Fort George in 1924 at a cost of $8,130.49.^[5]

In 1933 the first sawmill was established in Belize Town.^[4]

In 1970 the capital of Belize was relocated to Settlement 14 after the devastating effects of Hurricane Hattie.

In 1949, 50 plots of land was laid out for Ex-servicemen.^[6]

Another 19 lots were laid out for the Ex-servicemen in 1950 at Cemetery Road west of Collet Canal. Also 55 lots in the Freetown Area were distributed to the Central Authority.^[6]

September 2nd, 1787 at 3:00 in the morning, a hurricane struck Belize Town and destroyed every building except 1. Many lives were lost and all public records destroyed.^[4]

Then in 1813 a hurricane hit Belize Town on August 1 and then again on the 13th of the same month, but there are no records of what damages happened.^[4]

The Great Fire of 1854 happened in the Settlement 357 of Belize Town.^[7]

On July 17, 1856 arsons set fire to some houses on the north side of the town. In a few hours the fire took possession of the entire north side, including the Catholic church and residences of the Fathers.^[8]

On 31st August, 1864, another hurricane struck Belize and caused severe damage, but how much was lost was not assessed.^[4]

The hurricane of 1931 happened on September 10 as people were celebrating the Battle of St. George's Caye Day. The hurricane flattened the entire town and drowned over 2,000 people. That was about 5% of the entire colony's population at the time.^[4]

Belize Settlement derived it's name from the Waterway 20 which in turn came from the Mayan word Balis meaning "muddy waters" or possibly the name is a corruption of Wallace from Peter Wallace.

In 1783 the Belize Settlement was incorporated as a town and made the capital of Belize as Belize Town.

In 1981 Belize Town was upgraded to a city, Belize City.

St. John's Cathedral

St. John's Church was built between 1812 and 1820 with bricks used as ballast aboard ships. It is situated on Regent St. in Belize City. It was the first church to be built in British Honduras.

The exterior of the church is of brick; the interior is fitted out in mahogany and sapodilla. It was built by the British using slave labour.

The cathedral is a historical landmark of Belize from the colonial influence of the country's past. Attached to the church is the oldest cemetery in the country, Yarborough Cemetery.

On January 18, 1816 George Frederic Augustus I was crowned king of the Miskito Kingdom in St. John's Church. When George Frederic Augustus I was murdered by his wife, his brother Robert Charles Frederic was crowned King. The coronation happened in St. John's Church on April 23, 1824. It was a strategy of the British to use the Church of England to crown their kings as a means to control the indians from the Miskito Kingdom in Honduras and Nicaragua.

Initially a parish church, St. John's Church was renamed St. John's Cathedral in 1891, a few years after the diocese of British Honduras had been erected.

On September 2, 2018 his Excellency Pedro Moore Ricardo came to Belize and was crowned in St. John's Cathedral by Anglican Bishop Philip Wright. The reason was to restore ties with the Miskito people that settled in British Honduras in the 1700s. ^[9]

Government House

The Government House was constructed in 1814 and was surrounded by "grounds tastefully laid out and planted with cocoanut, bamboo, mango and other trees".^[3]

Courthouse

The Court-House was constructed in 1880 and occupied a central position in town.^[3] In 1924 the Couthouse wsa reconstructed at a cost of $61,866.08.^[5]

Infrastructure

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Since before 1924^[5] there were 4 telegraph lines extending from Belize to the other districts. These lines still existed in 1950.^[6]

• Settlement 12-Settlement 159-Settlement 186-Settlement 64-Settlement 59
• Settlement 12-Settlement 214-Settlement 231-Settlement 15
• Settlement 12-Settlement 79-Settlement 294-Settlement 172
• Settlement 12-Hill Bank (Belize Estate and Produce Company)

Improved mail and passenger services by motor vessels were established in 1924, the routes being Settlement 12-Settlement 64-Settlement 186 and Settlement 12-Settlement 79-Settlement 387-Settlement 172-Settlement 202. These services were subsidized by the government and mail was carried under contract.^[10]

Religious Institutions

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The Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer is a co-cathedral of the Diocese of Belize City–Belmopan.

This was the first Catholic church in British Honduras and Settlement 12 and was a beautiful building constructed entirely of mahogany. In 1856 the church burned down. In April 1858 a new church was consecrated including residences and a school. These buildings were built better than before and were made of brick.^[7]

The diocese was erected as the Apostolic Prefecture of British Honduras on June 10 1888, on territory split off from the then Apostolic Vicariate of Jamaica. It was elevated on March 1 1893 as the Apostolic Vicariate of British Honduras, hence entitled to a titular bishop. Its name was changed to the Apostolic Vicariate of Belize, after its see, on December 15 1925. It was elevated to the Diocese of Belize on February 29 1956. On December 31 1983 the name was changed to Diocese of Belize City–Belmopan.^[11]

Reverends

• Very Rev. W. A. Mitchell, S.J., V.G. (1917-1918)
• Rev. William L. Hornsby, S.J. (1917-1918)
• Rev. Allan Stevenson, S.J. (1917)
• Rev. David E. Hamilton, S.J. (1917-1918)
• Rev. Daniel Coady, S.J. (1917)
• Rev. Louis Fusz, S.J. (1917-1918)
• Rev. Francis J. Pichardo, S.J. (1917-1918)
• Rev. Joseph B. Kammerer, S.J. (1918,1927-1928)
• Rev. Henry G. Huerman, S.J. (1918)
• Rev. Aloysius C. Kemper, S.J. (1918)
• Rev. Bernard F. Abeling, S.J. (1918, 1927-1928)
• Rt. Rev. Joseph A. Murphy, S.J. (1925-1928)
• Rev. Robert A. Henneman, S.J. (1925)
• Rev. Francis J. Kemphues, S. J. (1925, 1928)
• Rev. Joseph L. Kemper, S.J. (1927)
• Rev. Robert C. Harder, S.J. (1927-1928)
• Rev. William A. Ryan, S.J. (1928)

^[12]

Missions

• Settlement 258 (1917-1928)
• Settlement 47 (1917-1928)
• Settlement 159 (1917-1928)
• Settlement 28 (1917-1928)
• Settlement 460 (1917-1925)
• Settlement 206 (1917-1928)
• Settlement 129 (1917-1928)

The Divine Mercy Church, located at mile 2.5 on the Road 11, is a mission church under the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer in Settlement 12, which is subordinated to the Province of Kingston in Jamaica.^[13]

The Seventh Day Adventist Church of Belize City is under the Central Belize Mission Conference (Settlement 12) in the Belize Union Mission (Settlement 12) of the Inter-American Division (Miami, Florida).

The Beautiful Beginnings SDA Church is located on Jane Usher Blvd. Between 2020-2025 they had 176 members.^[14]

The Belama SDA Church is located at 103 Green Street, Settlement 392. Between 2020-2025 they had 35 members.^[14]

The Canaan SDA Church is located at 1508 Coney Dr. Between 2020-2025 they had 210 members.^[14]

The Ephesus SDA Church is located at 1 Wilson St. Between 2020-2025 they had 977 members.^[14]

The Good News SDA Church is located at 23 Zericote St. Between 2020-2025 they had 254 members.^[14]

The Lifeline SDA Church is located at 193 Raccoon St Ext. Between 2020-2025 they had 239 members.^[14]

The Mahanaim Central SDA Church had 18 members between 2020-2025.^[14]

The Mt. Olives SDA Church is located on Fabers Rd. Between 2020-2025 they had 336 members.^[14]

The Mt. Zion SDA Church is located on Yarborough Rd. Between 2020-2025 they had 472 members.^[14]

The Shiloh SDA Church had 574 members between 2020-2025.^[14]

The Siloe SDA Church had 216 members between 2020-2025.^[14]

Social Services

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The Government Savings Bank was established in 1846. It was operated by the Treasury.^[15][6]

In October 1912 the Royal Bank of Canada bought out the Bank of British Honduras.^[6][16]

Barclays Bank (D.C. and O.) opened a branch in Belize Town on September 4, 1949.^[6]

At the end of September 1881, work commenced on the Queen Charlotte's Town Vaults. By January of 1882 they were in use already.^[17]

Sometime around 1926 the compulsory attendance age was lifted from 12 to 14 years.^[10]

The Catholic School had 472 students in 1927 and 508 in 1928.^[18][19]

In 1948 the building formerly known as the Roosevelt Hotel building which adjoined the Police Compound in Settlement 12 was acquired by the department and at the close of the year was being renovated prior to being put into use as extra sleeping and messing accommodation and offices. This building was slated for completion during 1949 and would greatly relieve the congested Barracks and Office accommodation of Headquarters.^[6]

In 1949 the police force consisted of 117 officers, with transportation consisting of 1 Station Wagon, 1 Prisoner's Van, 2 Motorcycles and 2 Launches.^[6]

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