Guyana, the land of many waters, a land of six races and a land where cultures intermingle giving us a rainbow spectacle of diversity. Not only are we rich in culture, but our history defines the way we look at ourselves and the way we interact with the things around us. As Guyanese, we constantly overlook those things which gave us definition as a people, we forget quite easily that history and the bygone days have left us with memoirs to remind us that we came from somewhere and our efforts to excel have not been in vain. A simple drive up the East Coast of Demerara, and one such memory that history has left us with could clearly be seen- The Chateau Margot Chimney.
The Chateau Margot Chimney is one of the most well-known landmarks on the Demerara coast, situated 8 miles away from Georgetown, adjacent to the public road in its namesake village Chateau Margot, with the villages of Success to the west and La Bonne Intention (LBI) to the east. The chimney’s construction was completed on July 1st, 1889 and was done by a Buxtonian brick layer by the name of Anthony Gordon. It is made completely of red bricks, standing on a large concrete base. The Chateau Margot Chimney would appear to be the only remains of a former sugar factory that was built on the land it is currently situated on; however despite its functions during the time of the operation of the sugar factory, it was also used as a beacon for ships approaching Port Georgetown. This continued even after the factory was demolished.
One notable fact was that after the completion of the chimney, its constructor, Gordon, upon seeing the vast amount of smoke that billowed out from the top said “Had it not been for the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, I would have drowned the heavens in smoke.”
The chimney stands where it is today, unaffected by the ravages of the sun and the rain, unwavering and brilliantly reaching for the sky, giving passers by a look way back into the past. If history ever had a say in the life we live today, then the Chateau Margot Chimney would be a prime example of that.
