Entering Linden on the highway from Amelia's Ward
Linden, located on the Demerara River about 107 km South from Georgetown, was created a town only in 1970. It's major components are the East Bank mining town of Mackenzie, and two former village districts, Wismar and Christianburg on the West Bank. The area of the town is approximately 142 km² - stretching from Amelia's Ward and Kara Kara in the North East to Coomacka and Three Friends in the South. It has an estimated population of 29,000.
In 1759 a survey undertaken by a Mr. L.L. Bercheych facilitated the forming of the township of Three Friends, named after three friends and former naval officers who had fought against Napoleon in the Caribbean, Mr. Spencer, Mr. Blount and Mr. John Dalgleish Patterson that settled there between 1759 and 1803.
Mr. Patterson, a government contractor at the time, owned plantation Christianburg which became well known as a choice place for retirement of British Naval Officers. Mr. Patterson built a great house (now known as the Magistrate Court) which became home and rest house for visitors of the early settlement. When Mr. Patterson died in 1842, the then British Guiana Government took over his plantation. A portion was sold to a prominent company of the times - Sproston’s - for the establishment of a railway to Rockstone, the establishment of a stone quarry and timber interest and to be the gateway to the interior and Guyana Major Mineral Resources.
In 1913 a Scottish geologist Mr. George Bain Mackenzie visited the area and bought lands for mining. In 1915 Mr. Mackenzie died and his lands passed into the control of a Mr. Winthrop C. Nelson. The following year mining of bauxite was started.
Wismar was formed by the influx of immigrants from various European countries, mainly Germany. Wismar became a settlement following emancipation when the former African slaves refused to work any longer on the sugar plantations. The colonist British Guiana Government had to look for an alternative labour supply. Thus, about five hundred Germans came to Guiana and, maybe during bouts of nostalgia, left their mark in the form of towns named after their ancestral homeland.
In 1918 a village administration was formed and Mr. R.G. Sharples was elected chairman. Mackenzie was formed from the township of Cockatara and joined the already established Christianburg plantation of Mr. Patterson and the fairly new settlement of Wismar.
Since then Linden has seen many changes in the areas of Economic, Education and Culture. In 1922 the population of Linden was less than one thousand persons. Employment was dependent on the Timber Industry, or independent gold prospecting. The timber was located along the Essequibo River and transported by railway to the Demerara River that was more accessible.
The opening of the Demerara Bauxite Company created an influx of job seekers and increased the now less transient population. A slump in the Bauxite industry between 1930-36 caused much hardship. Trade picked up just before the 1939-45 war and even more after - the need for aluminium was high.
Other than bauxite and timber, there are large quantities of kaolin and quartz sand in the Linden, Region Ten area. Kaolin is used in the manufacturing of tiles, bricks and other ceramic materials. Quartz sand, because of its almost pure quality, is in great demand in the glass making industries.
Future development should exploit the area’s resources, most notably gold and diamonds but even manganese. However, Linden’s mineral potential has never been properly evaluated, neither by local authorities nor by experts - a disturbing fact that creates controversy and stagnation within the Regional Government and even between Regional and Central Government policy makers.
Isolated as Linden is, it has to be self-sufficient for services, boasting two hospitals, several clinics, it's own power company, water treatment works and television station.
Health in the early years of the Linden Township was considered superior to most other townships of the time. Today there is a visible decline. The growth of the population and the decline of services have raised the mortality rate. Linden is presently facing a Yellow Fever threat and a fear of Malaria. Pest control facilities are non-existent. Garbage collection is periodic at best. Nutrition needs much supplementing. Water demands have risen while the infrastructure for distribution has deteriorated. Plastic dumping is a major cause for blockages.
Education is of a very good standard relative to surrounding districts even though the organizations that traditionally offer supplemental support to the education sector are presently throwing their efforts and treasury at the economic crisis that has a strangle hold on the region.
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