Sout City is one of the largest and most populated communities in Dominica and has always been of cultural and
historical significance.
The 
village lies
to the southern part of the island approximately fifteen kilometers away 
from Roseau, the capital. Sout City is made up of the community
of Grand Bay and its sub-rural communities of Ravine Banane, Hagley, Picodeau, Tete Morne, Montine and Powel to the North,
Pichelin to the North East, Dubique, Pointe Carib, Fond St. Jean and Petite Savanne to the South East.
This area of Dominica has a rich history dating back to pre-Colombian times, according to island historian Dr. Lennox Honychurch.
A family of French Huguenots arriving in Dominica via Switzerland, settled and named the rich valley next to Grand Bay "Geneva"
after the Swiss City. Some time later, the Geneva Estate came into the hands of the Lockhart family. 
The novelist Jean Rhys' mother was a Lockhart and Jean often visited Geneva in her youth. She later wrote
of it in her most famous novel "Wide Sargasso Sea." The source of the Geneva River is in the Morne Trois Piton National Park,
which has recently been declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site.. The history would no be complete with out mention of the
"Belle Croix", a beautiful stone cross, carved by the slaves under the command of Jeanot Rolle in 1691. This
cross was erected on his estate with the strong belief that peace with the Caribs would be maintained.
Slaves from Barbados landed at Grand Bay also known as "Les Jesuits" and were put to work cultivating tea, indigo, coffee
and cocoa.
By the year 1753 under La Vallette (Rolle's predecessor), ships were loading cargo at “Les Jesuits”
to be sold to merchants in France for money and merchandise. With the construction of huge buildings for the storage of crops,
preparation of cassava, milling and manufacture of coffee, Grand Bay became a productive site. In 1764 the
estate with its numerous buildings, one hundred and ninety four slaves and valuable coffee were sold to English creditors.
Since then life on the estate has continued to set the foundation of 
Sout City’s economic existence and cultural heritage. Traces of African, French, English and Indian
culture is noticeable in the people’s language, dress, belief, custom, folklore and every other aspect of community
life. To this day the Belle Croix stands guard in the Grand Bay Cemetery and the village named in honor of this cross “Berricoa,”
is the heart of the Grand Bay community. The Geneva estate, as the Jesuit estate was called, has since then been the scene
of and reason for many revolutions, peasant uprisings, fires and disputes.
Presented by: Adriana Henderson ( The Grand Bay Community - May 1988) And Zandoli.com
Stowe Estate, next door to Zandoli Inn, is a large diversified farm whose main crops are limes and bananas.
Chickens, pigs and prawns are also raised there. The old estate house was originally built as a British army officer's quarters
for the fort which protected the only anchorage on the south end of the island where ships came to collect sugar cane for
export. Old sea charts show this anchorage just below Zandoli Inn. Today, the odd sailboat spends a night there.
(See story of Dubique's magnificent Bele group in the Current News section and in the KOKIOKO.)
Petite Savanne
Maybe the last village in Sout City, but surely one of the greatest. This Village is very culturally concious
and this has lead them to win a number of local and national awards in culture. Petite Savanne is the home of another one
of Dominica's many centenarians, Marcille A Darroux. Born on 01/01/1901 she will be 103 on new years of 2004.
Grand Bay so it is normal to observe this laid back carefree nature of the people up that way. The people
are amoung some of the friendliest you may find anywhere. Montine is relatively flat in comparism to its neighbour Tete Morne.
Now do not be confused, there is Tete Morne the District and Tete Morne the village. Tete Morne and Montine are two different
villages and not one as many people believe. 
means top of the hill or mountain and yes it is
true to the definition. At the top Tete Morne, the village itself, other than just having the school is not that scenic, well
at least to one who 
does not know where to
look. From Tete Morne you can take any of these two tracks: one to the extreme peak through a motorable road to have this
breath taking view of the Soufririe village or the volcano. 