St. George's Parish

St. George's Parish preserves the founder effects of English colonization in the New World. Founded in 1612 as New London, the town of St. George's served as Bermuda's capital for 203 years until 1815, making it the oldest continuously inhabited English settlement in the Western Hemisphere. The UNESCO World Heritage Site contains 176 historic buildings including St. Peter's Church, consecrated in 1612 and the oldest Anglican church outside Britain, and the State House where Bermuda's Parliament sat from 1620.

The parish demonstrates path dependence in settlement patterns. When the Sea Venture wrecked on Bermuda's eastern reefs in 1609, survivors naturally established their first permanent settlement at the nearest protected harbor. This accident of geography meant St. George's developed the infrastructure of governance, trade, and defense that would later migrate westward to Hamilton when larger ships required deeper harbors. The fortifications spanning from 1612 to 1939 trace the evolution of military engineering through four centuries.

Today St. George's exhibits classic climax community challenges: the very heritage that makes it valuable constrains its economic adaptation. The Government has designated it an Economic Empowerment Zone, directing the St. Regis Development and Marina Project to inject tourism investment. Like a mature ecosystem facing disturbance, the parish must balance preservation of its 400-year-old character with the economic metabolism required to sustain its 2,000 residents.