THE village of Dartmouth located in Region Two between Anna Regina and Charity was originally an enclave of free, emancipated people, living under sub-human conditions, most times inundated with sea water.
It was the home village of former Prime Minister Dr Ptolemy Reid and Mr. Kenneth Hopkinson, the first Regional Chairman, inclusive of an outstanding family, the Annamantadoos. With the 1994 Local Government elections, the 1980 Constitution was promoted by the PPP/C government and had the formation of five NDCs in Essequibo, one of which being the Paradise and Evergreen NDC. The newly elected body’s first task was to relocate the office from a dilapidated building out of public sight to the public road. A complete assessment of housing, farmlands, factories, etc was carried out and the road to progress commenced by geometrical leaps. The man behind the scene is Mr. Cornel Damon who is a resident of the village and a RDC Councillor. The image of this village from the late 80s has changed significantly with new buildings, mud dams became bitumen streets, concrete replacing wooden bridges and favoured by spanking new hotels of international standards. In this four-mile NDC there are three large rice-milling complexes, two fuel stations, four metal workshops and a fish port. There are also two monuments, one in memory of the late Dr Reid and the other a fallen GDF soldier.
In the late 1860 Dartmouth, a triangular shaped village, due to the Dutch surveyor’s propensity was known by indentured Indians as ‘Ludge Jaa’, a Hindi word meaning ‘turn back’. As there was no particular road for indentured Indians seeking asylum from the existing sugar plantations, as such, Dartmouth was a rescue raft for many who had finished their indenture contracts, since the road link to Charity in the Pomeroon was done in ……
If the elders of the village ever had a vision, it is Cornel Damon and his NDC with support from the PPP/C government that has made their vision a reality.