Parishes of Jamaica Parishes of Jamaica Administratively, Jamaica is divided into fourteen parishes. They are grouped into three historic counties, which have no administrative relevance. Every parish has a coast; none is landlocked. The traditional county towns were Savanna-la-Mar for Cornwall County, Spanish Town for Middlesex County, and Kingston for Surrey County. The parishes of Kingston and Saint Andrew together form the "Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation". Parishes have been a feature of local administration in Jamaica since the island was captured by the English in 1655. The number has varied over time and some no longer exist having either been absorbed into
Jamaica, Queens town and the county seat moved to Mineola (now part of Nassau County). In 1814, Jamaica became the first incorporated village on Long Island. When Queens was incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898, both the Town of Jamaica and the Village of Jamaica were dissolved, but the neighborhood of Jamaica regained its role as county seat. Today, some locals group Jamaica's surrounding neighborhoods into an unofficial Greater Jamaica, roughly corresponding to the former Town of Jamaica, including Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, St. Albans, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Hollis, Laurelton, Cambria Heights, Queens Village, Howard Beach and Ozone Park.