Old Nanny Town was a village on the southern slope of the Blue Mountains in the Stoney River Valley which was a stronghold of Jamaican Maroons (enslaved escapees). They were led in the early 18th century by an Ashanti enslaved escapee known as Granny Nanny or Queen Nanny. The town held out against repeated British colonial attacks before being destroyed in 1734. This was the most famous settlement of the Maroons known as “the great negro town” with over 140 houses, many of which were burnt by the militia but re-built by the Maroons during the four years of fighting which preceded the Peace Treaty of 1739.
It has been named after Nanny, the great Maroon leader who brought the Maroons many of their victories during the first Maroon War. Built around 1723, it was not discovered by the English until 1728.
