RUN ACROSS HAITI® ROUTE HIGHLIGHT: Day 9, Jacmel

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POPULATION
~137,966

HISTORY
The town was founded by the "Compagnie de Saint-Domingue" in 1698 as the capital of the southeastern part of the French colony Saint-Domingue. The area is now called Jacmel.

DESCRIPTION
  • Jacmel, Haiti's fourth-largest city with a population of 138,000 has long been known for its culture.
  • Jacmel is known internationally for its vibrant arts and craft scene, including nearly 200 papier-mâché artisans, as well as a school of painting and a music and film school that is recognized among the best in Haiti.
FUN FACTS
  • Due to the city’s well-preserved historical French colonial architecture, it has been tentatively accepted as a World Heritage site and UNESCO.
  • In 1925, Jacmel was dubbed as the "City of Light," becoming the first in the Caribbean to have electricity.
  • The mansions of Jacmel, with their cast-iron pillars and balconies, would later influence the homes in much of New Orleans.
  • The town is a popular tourist destination in Haiti due to its relative tranquility and distance from the political turmoil that plagues Port-au-Prince.
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