Oracabessa
| Oracabessa | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 Oracabessa
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| Coordinates: 18°24′12″N 76°56′48″W / 18.4032139°N 76.9465899°WCoordinates: 18°24′12″N 76°56′48″W / 18.4032139°N 76.9465899°W | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| Parish | St Mary |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 4,100 |
Oracabessa is a small town in St Mary, Jamaica 10 miles (16 km) east of Ocho Rios. Its population was 4,108 in 2009. Lit in the afternoons by an apricot light that may have inspired its Spanish name, Oracabeza, or "Golden Head", Oracabessa's commercial district consists of a covered produce market and a few shops and bars. The main street is a narrow promenade with a number of well-maintained buildings in the early 20th century Jamaican vernacular tradition.
To the east Oracabessa merges into a residential community, which is the site of luxury villas such as Goldeneye, Golden Clouds, and Firefly Estate, the latter once the home of British playwright Noël Coward. To the immediate west of Oracabessa is the village of Boscobel, home of Ian Fleming International Airport, Jamaica's newest international airport.
One of Oracabessa's most well-known residents is artist Richard Von White, grandson of W.E. White, a self-made man, baker, planter, and Oracabessa's leading citizen in the early 1900s. Von's brilliantly hued, evocative canvasses reflect the tropical flora that inspire him. Other notable residents of Oracabessa include music producer Chris Blackwell and bestselling author Colin Simpson. Blackwell owns Goldeneye villa, original home of author Ian Fleming, who wrote many of the James Bond novels while living in Oracabessa. Simpson owns Golden Clouds villa and is the great-great grandson of renowned Baptist missionary and abolitionist James Phillippo.
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