Located directly east of the Korle Lagoon, Jamestown and Usshertown are the oldest districts of Accra, Ghana and emerged as communities around the 17th century British James Fort and Dutch Ussher Fort on the Gulf of Guinea coast. These districts were developed at the end of the 19th century, and following the rapid growth of the city during the 20th century, they became areas of a dense mixture of commercial and residential use. oday, both Jamestown and Usshertown remain fishing communities inhabited primarily by the Ga. Although in a state of decay, the districts are significant in the history of Accra which replaced Cape Coast as the capital of Gold Coast (British colony) in 1876. The original lighthouse built at James Fort in 1871, was replaced in the 1930s by the current tower, which is 28 m (92 ft) tall. The lighthouse, which is 34 meters (112 ft) above sea level, has a visibility of 16 nautical miles (30 km), it overlooks the harbor, c the Bukom district and the Ussher.

Since World War II, a succession of plans to enhance the capital city have come with changes in government — some seeing improvements in Jamestown as a necessary part of the overall plan, and some treating such improvements as competing with the efforts to develop the central business district of Accra further north. Currently, plans are afoot to redevelop the districts of Jamestown and Ussher town, referred to as "GaMashie" with the inauguration of the 2015 Old Accra Strategy. The Popular Azonto dance originated from James Town. The Local Language "Ga" is often spoken by the natives