Timeline of Freetown

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 19th century

• 1787
  • 9 May: Settlers arrive from Portsmouth, England.
  • Granville Town, Province of Freedom established by the London-based Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor.
• 1789 - Granville Town burned down.
• 1792 - Freetown established by black American ex-slaves (called the Nova Scotian Settlers) under the auspices of the Sierra Leone Company.
• 1794 - September: Settler Town attacked by French.

19th century

Freetown, 1803

• 1800
  • September: Rebellion of Nova Scotian Settlers.
  • Jamaican Maroon settlers arrive.
• 1805 - Martello Tower built.
• 1808
  • Freetown settlement becomes a British crown colony.
  • "Slavers court" established.
• 1811 - Population: 1,900.
• 1812 - Wilberforce suburb founded for Liberated Africans."
• 1816 - Krootown established.
• 1822
  • Rawdon Street Methodist Church built.
  • Population: 4,785.
• 1827 - Fourah Bay College established.
• 1828 - St. George's Cathedral, Freetown built.
• 1830s - Foulah Town Mosque built.
• 1845
  • Church Mission Society Grammar School founded.
  • John Ezzidio becomes mayor.
• 1846 - Cline Town established.
• 1847 - Female Institution (school) founded.
• 1853 - Inhabitants become "British subjects."
• 1865 - Samuel Lewis becomes mayor.
• 1866 - St. Edward's Primary School founed.
• 1867 - Government Wharf built.
• 1872 - Pope Hennessy Day festival begins.
• 1873 - Independent newspaper begins publication.
• 1874 - Wesleyan High School for Boys opens.
• 1875 - West African Reporter newspaper begins publication.
• 1884
  • Sierra Leone Weekly News begins publication.
  • Leopold Educational Institute opens.
  • Fire.
• 1891 - Population: 30,033.
• 1893 - Town attains city status; Freetown City Council established.
• 1895 - Governor's residence built.
• 1898 - Bank of British West Africa branch and ice factory established.
• 1899 - Songo Town-Freetown railway begins operating.

20th century

• 1904
  • John Henry Malamah Thomas becomes mayor.
  • Albert Academy founded.
• 1905
  • Madrasa Islamia active.
  • Lisk-Carew photo studio in business.
• 1918 - Population: 34,000 (approximate).
• 1919 - July: Strike and anti-Syrian riot.
• 1922 - St. Edward's Secondary School founded.
• 1923 - Girls' Industrial and Technical Training School established.
• 1925 - Prince of Wales School founded.
• 1926
  • January: Railway strike.
  • December: City Council dissolved; Municipal Board established.
• 1928 - East End Lions Football Club formed.
• 1930 - Women granted right to vote.
• 1932
  • Muslim Congress created.
  • Sierra Leone Daily Mail newspaper begins publication.
• 1938
  • West African Youth League and League of Coloured Peoples branch headquartered in Freetown.
  • Freetown Secondary School for Girls established.
• 1948
  • Eustace Henry Taylor Cummings becomes mayor.
  • Population: 64,576.
• 1953 - Deep Water Quay construction begins.
• 1961 - City becomes capital of Commonwealth realm of Sierra Leone.
• 1962 - Siaka Stevens becomes mayor.
• 1964 - Bank of Sierra Leone headquartered in city.
• 1965 - Sierra Leone Port Authority established.
• 1966 - Constance Cummings-John becomes mayor.
• 1971 - City becomes capital of the Republic of Sierra Leone.
• 1977 - Ode-lay Society (social club) formed.
• 1980 - Siaka Stevens Stadium opens.
• 1983 - For Di People newspaper begins publication.

1990s

See also: Sierra Leone Civil War

• 1990 - Population: 529,000 (urban agglomeration).
• 1995 - Population: 603,000 (urban agglomeration).
• 1996 - Freetown/New Haven Sister Cities established.
• 1997
  • 25 March: "Rebels move into Freetown;" prisoners freed from the Pademba Road prison.
  • 30 May: Foreigners evacuated.
  • 2 June: AFRC conflict.
• 1998
  • February: "Ecomog storms Freetown and drives rebels out."
  • Kabbah returns to Freetown.
• 1999
  • January: City besieged by Armed Forces Revolutionary Council/Revolutionary United Front.
  • November: United Nations troops arrive.

21st century

File:Flickr - stringer bel - Freetown, Sierra Leone (11).jpg

Freetown, 2009

• 2000
  • 2 May: City Hotel burns down.
  • 8 May: Peace demonstration.
  • Center for Media, Technology and Education established.
  • Population: 688,000 (urban agglomeration).
• 2002
  • Sierra Leone Civil War ends.
  • Special Court for Sierra Leone and Kallon Football Club established.
• 2003 - 14 April: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Sierra Leone) convenes.
• 2004
  • Winstanley Bankole Johnson becomes mayor.
  • Population: 772,873.
• 2005 - Njala University College established.
• 2010 - Population: 945,423.
• 2012
  • Cholera epidemic.
  • Sam Franklyn Gibson becomes mayor.

See also

• Freetown history
• Schools in Freetown
• List of mayors of Freetown
• History of Sierra Leone

Further reading

Published in the 19th century

Published in the 20th century

• H. R. Jarrett. The Port and Town of Freetown, Geography, Vol. 40, 1955, pp. 108–118.
• Michael Banton. West African City: A Study of Tribal Life in Freetown. London: Oxford University, 1957.
• M.B. Gleave. "Port activities and the spatial structure of cities: the case of Freetown, Sierra Leone." Journal of Transport Geography 5.4 (1997): 257-275.

Published in the 21st century

• + website
• Kenneth Lynch et al. "Meeting the urban challenge? Urban agriculture and food security in post-conflict Freetown, Sierra Leone." Applied Geography (2012).
• Roy Maconachie, Tony Binns, and Paul Tengbe. "Urban farming associations, youth and food security in post-war Freetown, Sierra Leone." Cities 29.3 (2012): 192-200.