Founded in 1832, Edina township lies on an island of some 83 acres that is about a mile long and a quarter mile wide. It sits about half a mile from the St. John’s River mouth and toward its northern bank. During the era of slave trading, it was known as “Factory Island” based on the presence there of a “factory” or warehouse where goods were traded for enslaved Africans.
Edina was established by 38 repatriates who set out from Monrovia to settle land recently acquired by the colonial authorities. The town was named to honor the colonizationists of Edinburgh, Scotland, who funded the land purchase.
Footnote: E. Skinner, “Liberia: Extracts of a letter,” African Repository, June 1836, p. 169; J. W. Lugenbeel, “Sketches of Liberia – No. 2,” African Repository, July 1850, p. 207; Cassell, 1970, p. 103; Brown, p. 87-88, 95, n. 21; also d’Amico, 1977, pp. 121-122.
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