Fred Hall of Leyden, Sophia’s Rust, De-Cottage, Uitkomst, Spring Garden, Dora, Whisper Landing Yaruni Landing and the Kuliserabo Creek area of the Demerara River.
Fred Hall was born in Spring Garden Demerara River on July 31, 1901. He became a timber merchant and the owner of a “timber grant” on the western side of Demerara River about 40 miles from Georgetown upstream of Kuliserabo Creek. He was a major supplier of Wallaba wood to Demerara Bauxite Company (DEMBA) that was converted into coal for use in their bauxite mining operations.
He was a well-known “timberman” in the Demerara River area and built one of the largest and most beautiful cottages in the Spring Garden, Demerara River area to house his family of twelve children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. His home was open to every family and friends that passed through the region and was the stopping point for RH Carr boat that plied between Georgetown and the mining town of Mackenzie.
In the 1930s, Fred Hall was the first person in the Demerara River area to organize and sponsor a cricket match. The match was between Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and Fred Hall’s team who were members of his grant operations, and it was held on the shores of Kuliserabo Creek beyond Labba Creek, Demerara River.
In the early 1930s Fred Hall was the owner of a “launch” that operated in the upper Demerara river region, beyond Mackenzie and Wismar.
In July 1936 his grant was one of the first to host the Wesleyan Missionaries church services for the area, along with the grants of Abel Gonsalves, Loramor and Sills families and the property of Peter Ho. The services were led by locals Rev. J. M. Walton, Rev. James Watson and overseas visitors Rev. R. G. Flexon, Rev. Walter Surbrook (General Superintendent of the Pilgrim Holiness Church), Rev. Alvin Young, Rev. J. Olsen and Rev. Ernal Wilson.
In 1948, Fred Hall along with his sons Clement, Theodore and a relative Bertie Ransome transported from Kuliserabo Creek to Georgetown via the Demerara River one of the largest shipments of timber and sold the lot to the John Fernandes Company.
Fred Hall’s daughter Lucille was married to Clarence Barnwell on December 25, 1948 at Uitkomst, Demerara River, and all the wedding attendees from Georgetown traveled by R.H. Carr. The captain Benjie who was a personal friend of Fred Hall, anchored the boat and everyone was invited to partake in the wedding. On their way back to Georgetown Captain Benjie again anchored, allowing the wedding guest and party to board before departing for Georgetown.
Fred Hall was hired by John Fernandes of Georgetown as Managing Foreman of grant operations in the Demerara River region and became one of the key architects of the company’s success; he is still remembered and revered by the descendants of that company today. Fred Hall developed for the John Fernandes Company the Yaruni area of Upper Demerara River and Whisper Landing near Dora, Demerara River to make coal from Wallaba wood and supplied businesses from Georgetown to Mackenzie.
He was hired as the Manager of the Horodia grant owned by Comacho of Georgetown until his untimely death on January 20, 1963.
