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| History of Montego Bay Christopher Columbus could be considered among one of the area’s first tourists. He sailed into the crescent-shaped bay during his first visit to the island in1494, and named the balmy bay the “Gulf of Good Weather.”  Historians believe the word “montego” evolved from manteca, Spanish for lard. Ancient maps show a reference to “Manteca Bay,” so named by the Spaniards who arrived in the 17th century. Early Spanish occupants used the bay for shipping the lard from wild hogs. The Spanish established a settlement in 1655. A decade later the British established the parish of St. James. Doctors Cave Beach really catapulted MoBay into the tourism limelight. The beach takes its name from a local doctor named Alexander James McCatty who in 1906 established a bathing club for his friends. A decade or so later, a celebrated British osteopath claimed he was restored to good health after bathing there. Doctors Cave Beach became famous overnight. Although the cave is no longer there, victim of a hurricane in 1932, the beach still provides the perfect prescription for stressed out visitors.  |
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