As you drive in or out of Hillel Academy, you may or may not have noticed the slightly hidden yet beautiful brick structure that sits on the hillside opposite the High School faculty parking.

The Class of 2012 did take notice, and have discovered a piece of Jamaica's history by uncovering a lime kiln which dates back to the mid-1700's.

These young men and women along with their history teacher Mr. Hugh Douse, have been working with Jamaica's National Heritage Trust, and have found that 51 Upper Mark Way was once a part of the Cherry Hill Estate which over time grew from eighty acres of land to over eight hundred acres.

The estate included such areas now known as Barbican and Norbrook, and even held the home of our National Hero, George William Gordon. Cherry Hill estate is believed to have also included a working coffee farm. The lime kiln located on the Hillel campus would've most likely been used by the landowners to produce quick lime from limestone which was very often used in the mid-1700's-1800's for improving the fertility of soil, lime-washing house walls to make them waterproof or even to prevent foot rot in livestock.

The Class of 2012 is very proud of this discovery and aspires to see this project through to its completion. They have already started their efforts with the help of the Heritage Trust technical team who assisted with the clearing of the overgrown bush that was once hiding the kiln, cleaning up the surrounding area and putting in steps from the School driveway to the structure. There is more work to be done as the technical team has declared the lime kiln unsafe at this time due to the unfortunate overgrowth of tree routes right through the middle of the beautiful brick work.

These young historians during an excavation activity on the site also uncovered shells dating back to Amerindian civilizations, and plan to continue excavation on this area once they return to School in September. The final step for the students will be to tell the story of the lime kiln and display it close to the structure in the form of a story board, and to work with the School on adding a possible seating area so that students of Hillel Academy will be able to enjoy this little piece of history for many years to come.

The team at the National Heritage Trust along with their Executive Director, Mrs. Laleta Mattis has given the students their commitment to assist further with this project not only regarding the restoration of the kiln but also with any artifacts they may find. In fact, the Jamaica National Heritage Trust has deemed the lime kiln a National Heritage Site. Mrs. Mattis has further assisted the History department in the High School by helping the Grade 7 class develop the study of archaeology, and has also allowed the team at the Heritage Trust to be a great resource for our teachers.