Barrackpore

The name Barrackpore may have originated from the English word barracks, as it was the site of the first cantonment of the British East India Company.

The earliest references to the Barrackpore region are found in the writings of the Greek navigators, geographers, chronicles and historians of the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD.

The first British barrack or cantonment in India was built in the town in 1772. After the British crown assumed direct control of India, the sprawling Government House and the Government Estate were built in Barrackpore to provide the viceroy with a suburban residence 15 miles (24 km) outside of Calcutta.

Two rebellions against British authority took place in Barrackpore in the 19th century. The first of these was Barrackpore Mutiny of 1824, led by Sepoy Bindee Tiwary.

In 1857, Barrackpore was the scene of an incident that some credit with starting the Indian rebellion of 1857: an Indian soldier, Mangal Pandey, attacked his British commander, and was subsequently court-martialed. His regiment was disbanded, an action which offended a number of sepoys and is considered to have contributed to the anger that fueled the rebellion.

Highlights of a stop in Barrackpore include the Semaphore Tower, Government House, the Temple of Fame and Flagstaff House.