Leafing through the history of Freetown, the city bore many names. One of them, an obscure ‘white man’s grave’, forced the Europeans settled in Freetown at the beginning of the XX century to move their residences to the city’s forested hills. It made them run away from the most dangerous animal in Africa – a mosquito.

Hill Station is where the Europeans longing for a mountain breeze and a hideaway from the deadly bites started to settle in 1904. The workmen began to clear the bush on the hills two years before to make space for a set of identical wooden houses built on high stilts, and with covered latticed stairwells.

The construction of Hill Station was a manifestation of racial segregation. Its area was fenced and warning signs were put in place to prevent the local people from entering the European enclave. No cultivation, settlement or children playing around were allowed.

Today, these wooden colonial relics belong to the government of SL and house civil servants for the duration of their service.