Portuguese in Buxton/Friendship
“Rubber” Rum Shop, once owned by Henrique Correia, called Rubber. Photo taken on April 5, 2011.
Times Square Store, owned by Julio Gomes Pereira and built around 1936, on the site of the old post office. It enhanced Buxton’s standing as a shopping center on the East Coast. Photo taken on April 5, 2011.
“New Foundout” – this was a 3-in-1 store owned by the Gomes Family. It was a rum shop, store and salt goods shop. In the yard to the right is a breadfruit tree that was there probably since the shop was built. Lionel said that this is a ‘sister’ tree from the original tree. Photo taken on April 5, 2011.
This guest house was once owned by the De Freitas family of Central Garage. They spent most week-ends here. Norma Easton now lives there. Photo taken on April 5, 2011.
This was a “fabulous” guest house once owned by the Lopes family. It was renovated and became a hotel in October 2001, by Brian Hamilton family who once owned the Esso Gas Station in Friendship. Photo taken about Xmas 2001.
This is what’s left of this house today. After 35-year-old Brian Hamilton was shot and killed on March 21, 2003 at his gas station, his father Oscar Hamilton “couldn’t take it anymore.” He soon arrived with attorneys Nigel Hughes and Stephen Fraser and closed the gas station. It wasn’t too long after that this beautiful building was vandalized.
This was another guest house owned by a family of J.P. Santos & Co. It was also owned by Brian Hamilton’s grandmother, who remodeled it. The current owner is Elaine Neil, Odinga’s mother. Photo taken on April 5, 2011.