Georgetown

/jawrj"town'/, n.

1. Also, George Town. a seaport in and the capital of the state of Penang, in NW Malaysia. 250,578.

2. a seaport in and the capital of Guyana, at the mouth of the Demerara. 182,000.

3. a residential section in the District of Columbia.

4. a town in N Kentucky. 10,972.

5. a city in E South Carolina. 10,144.

6. a town in and the capital of the Cayman Islands, West Indies, on Grand Cayman. 3975.

* * *

formerly (1784–1812) Stabroek

City (pop., 1999 est.: 275,000), capital of Guyana.

The country's chief port, it lies on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Demerara River. It was founded by the British in 1781 and named after George III; it was largely rebuilt by the French by 1784. Known during the Dutch occupation as Stabroek, it was established as the seat of government of the combined colonies of Essequibo and Demerara in 1784. When the British regained control in 1812, the name was changed back to Georgetown. The modern city is the chief commercial and manufacturing centre of Guyana.

* * *

▪ Colorado, United States

      town, seat (1867) of Clear Creek county, north-central Colorado, U.S. It lies along the South Fork of Clear Creek, in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of 8,540 feet (2,603 metres), 40 miles (64 km) west of Denver. A historic mining town, it originated in 1864 when the Belmont (silver) Lode was discovered nearby, and by the time that the Colorado Central Railroad arrived in 1877, it was producing vast amounts of silver. It was named for George Griffith, a local official. By the 1890s silver mining had declined and so had the town.

      Unlike many other Colorado mining towns, Georgetown did not experience a major fire, and many original Victorian buildings have survived and have been restored, notably Hamill House (1867) and the Hotel de Paris (1875), both on the National Register of Historic Places. The latter was built and operated by an eccentric Frenchman, Louis du Puy, whose outlook and epicurean tastes were highly unusual for the region; it was one of the most elegant hostelries west of the Mississippi River during its heyday and is now a museum owned by the Colonial Dames of America. Georgetown remains a tourist base for drives to surrounding ghost towns. A restored narrow-gauge railway runs between Georgetown and Silver Plume. The Georgetown Loop Historic Mining and Railroad Park is 2 miles (3 km) west, and the Loveland Basin and Valley Ski areas are nearby. The Eisenhower Memorial (road) Tunnel, penetrating 1.7 miles (2.7 km) through the Continental Divide, is a few miles west; it opened to traffic in 1973. Inc. 1868. Pop. (1990) 891; (2000) 1,088.

▪ Guyana

      capital city of Guyana. The country's chief port, Georgetown lies on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Demerara River. Although the settlement was founded by the British in 1781 and named for George III, it had been largely rebuilt by the French by 1784. Known during the Dutch occupation as Stabroek, it was established as the seat of government of the combined colonies of Essequibo and Demerara in 1784. When the British regained control in 1812, the name was changed back to Georgetown.

      Many houses and public buildings in the city are constructed of wood, the former generally raised on brick pillars 4–10 feet (1–3 metres) from the ground. As a consequence of great fires in 1945 and 1951, however, most buildings in the business sections were reconstructed of reinforced concrete. The public buildings in the centre of the city include the government offices, City Hall, and cathedrals. The University of Guyana (1963) is in the suburb of Turkeyen. The city also has an extensive botanical garden, a zoo, a seaside promenade, and many outdoor recreational facilities.

      Georgetown is the chief commercial and manufacturing centre of Guyana. It exports sugar, rice, and tropical fruits, as well as timber, balata, bauxite, gold, and diamonds from the Guyanese hinterland. Large sugar refineries are located in the city. Guyana's highway network is poor, although roads do lead along the coast and inland from Georgetown for a short distance. The city is served by various international steamship lines and airlines. Pop. (2002) city, 35,440; urban agglom., 137,520.

▪ South Carolina, United States

 port city, seat of Georgetown county, eastern South Carolina, U.S. It lies near the Atlantic coast where the Great Pee Dee (Pee Dee River), Waccamaw, Black, and Sampit rivers enter Winyah Bay. An early Spanish settlement there (1526) was abandoned because of fever. The first English settlement on the site was made about 1700, and the community, formally established in 1734, was named for Britain's King George II.

      As a shipping point for indigo, rice, lumber, and naval supplies, Georgetown influenced the development of coastal South Carolina and has many historic landmarks. The marquis de Lafayette (Lafayette, Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert du Motier, marquis de) first landed on American soil (June 13, 1777) at nearby North Island. Occupied by the British during the American Revolution, the town was attacked several times by the American soldier Francis Marion (Marion, Francis), the “Swamp Fox.” Historic structures include Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church (c. 1750), the Kaminski House (c. 1760), and the Old Market Building (c. 1842), now the site of a rice museum. Georgetown's harbour, on the Intracoastal Waterway, has been developed as a deepwater port. Paper and steel wire products are important manufactures, and tourism (yachting and fishing) is an economic asset. Nearby is Hopsewee Plantation (c. 1740), a restored rice plantation. Also near are the Brookgreen Gardens, with more than 500 pieces of sculpture mounted in the gardens of a former rice and indigo plantation that includes a wildlife park. A campus of Horry-Georgetown Technical College (1966) is in Georgetown. Inc. town, 1805; city, 1892. Pop. (1990) 9,517; (2000) 8,950.

▪ The Gambia

also called  Janjangbure , or  Janjanbureh 

      town, port on MacCarthy Island in the Gambia River in central Gambia (Gambia, The). It was founded in 1823 by Captain Alexander Grant as a settlement for freed slaves. Georgetown's Wesleyan Mission (1823) introduced the peanut (groundnut), a crop still exported downstream on the Gambia River. Georgetown is a collecting centre for swamp rice and peanuts grown by the local Muslim Malinke, Fulani, and Wolof peoples. Pop. (2003 prelim.) 3,466.

▪ county, South Carolina, United States

      county, eastern South Carolina, U.S. The Atlantic Ocean is the eastern border, the Great Pee Dee River (Pee Dee River) the irregular northeastern border, and the Santee River (Santee-Wateree-Catawba river system) the southern border. It also is drained by the Waccamaw, Black, and Sampit rivers, which empty into Winyah Bay. A portion of the Sea Islands, with their sandy beaches, line the coast, and swamps and pine forests cover much of the inland area.

      The region was inhabited by Siouan-speaking Winyah Indians when Europeans began settling Carolina in the 1670s. During the colonial era rice and indigo cultivation made it important agriculturally. Georgetown county was established in 1785 and named for George II of England. The deep harbour at the town of Georgetown, the county seat, made it a crucial port of entry for supplies during the U.S. War of Independence (American Revolution); the British seized the town in 1780 and destroyed it the next year. The county first became noted as a resort area in the 18th century; Huntington Beach State Park and oceanside communities such as Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach, and Pawleys Island continue to attract vacationers who enjoy fishing and swimming.

      Tourism, commercial fishing, lumbering, and textile, steel, and paper production are important elements in the economy, but, apart from tobacco growing, agriculture is a minor element. Area 815 square miles (2,110 square km). Pop. (2000) 55,797; (2007 est.) 60,499.

▪ district, Washington, District of Columbia, United States

      section of the city of Washington, D.C., U.S., at the confluence of the Potomac River and Rock Creek, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of the national Capitol. Georgetown was settled late in the 17th century. It was laid out as a town in 1751, under the name of George. With construction of the Potomac Canal and the town's incorporation as the city of George Town in 1789, it became a bustling trade centre. In 1871 it was merged into the District of Columbia, and in 1878 it was annexed to the city of Washington. Georgetown is largely residential, and its streets are old-fashioned, well-shaded, and narrow. In the “Heights” section are Georgetown University (1789) and many fine homes with beautiful gardens. Legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1950 to preserve the character of the section, to be known as Old Georgetown, which was later designated a national historic district.

* * *