Yesterday, we hopped the jitney and headed downtown with the express interest of touring the Queen's Staircase.
These amazing sixty six steps are a major landmark here.
Historians tell us they were hand-carved by roughly 600 slaves, who used pick axes and hand tools to cut their way through solid limestone. The entire staircase took over 16 years to complete.
It was only decades later that the impressive staircase was then named in honour of the over 60-year reign of Queen Victoria, “who had signed a declaration to abolish slavery on her ascension to the throne in 1837.”
We also toured Fort Fincastle, to which the staircase provided the escape route.
Constructed in 1793 from cut limestone, protected the harbour from pirates. The original cannons (3-30lb and 2-20 lb) though rusted from the salt air, are still onsite. We really enjoyed the heritage and history of our visit.
From the center of town and back, we feel those more than twelve thousand steps were very well spent.
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| The magnitude of what took all those years and 600 slaves to carve, is eerily present when you walk around the bottom of the limestone chasm. TAKEN: APRIL 12th, 2024 |
Amazing history
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