Founded in 1723, Port Antonio was Jamaica's most important center for banana growth and export in the late 1800s.

In 1873 Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker of Massachusetts loaded some bananas on his ship to take back to New England. They were an instant success there, and the future of the banana was secured, as orders came in for more and more of this tasty fruit. The Boston Fruit Company rushed to Port Antonio and began establishing banana plantations and hiring the descendants of slaves as its low-paid workers. In time, bananas became known as "green gold." They could be picked green and would ripen in the ships carrying them back to New England.

By 1905 Captain Baker had erected the Titchfield Hotel and begun bringing in tourists. Some of the wealthiest people in America, including J. P. Morgan, came to visit at this Jamaican playground-and it all began with the banana.  Following World War 1, the rich and famous began arriving in yachts, amongst them then world's wealthiest man, J.P. Morgan; newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst; actress Clara Bow; and the legendary lover-and-actor, Errol Flynn, who built a home on Navy Island (today a resort and marina, but originally a British naval station). They stayed in Tichfield, also the original name of the town, in a residential area which is till admired for its examples of Victorian gingerbread architecture including the classic DeMontevin Lodge which is over 128 years old.

In the 1920s, however, a banana blight arrived from Central America. The disease destroyed Port Antonio's banana crops. The local economy collapsed, and it has never really bounced back since, except for the tourism boom that hit-briefly-during the 1960s. 

Although the banana trade waned in the early decades of the new century, this charming town was soon rediscovered and glamorised by the Hollywood stars of the 1940s and 50s.   Still frequented by movie stars and visitors looking for a quiet escape, Port Antonio of today is a low-key, peaceful spot, cradled by nature’s profuse beauty.  In recent years, Portie has been the setting of various movies:  The Blue Lagoon -- the one that started it all, The Mighty Quinn, Club Paradise, Clara's Heart, Playmates in Paradise, Cocktail and a remake of Lord of the Flies. In and around the town centre elegant old buildings beckon, silently reminding us of the town’s celebrated history.