Jamaica is an astounding visual journey documenting the unique history
of this remarkable community over more than 350 years.
Jamaica, Queens, has long occupied a commanding position in the
political, social, and industrial life of Queens County. Indigenous
people created a trail, used by various tribes to trade furs and other
goods, through the woods that later became Jamaica Avenue, the main
street of the village. Jamaica was witness to the evolution of change,
receiving a charter from Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1656,
becoming an English colony in 1664, and winning freedom in the American
Revolution with the Jamaica Minutemen. The area is richly steeped in
history: George Washington slept here; and Walt Whitman, Susan B.
Anthony, Rufus King, Jacob Riis, and many more have left their mark on
Jamaica. Jamaica is an astounding visual journey documenting the unique
history of this remarkable community over more than 350 years.