Research Trip to Eleuthera, Bahamas

I recently took a week-long trip, at the request of the Cape Eleuthera Institute, to the island of Eleuthera, Bahamas. The purpose of the trip was to investigate the heritage of the island in hopes of organizing a series of field projects on the island in the coming years. Rich Veit of Monmouth University also came down for a couple of days and we visited a number of  locations showcasing the island's fascinating cultural heritage.

Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas

Day 01 - Arrival

I flew into Governor's Harbor airport on Tuesday January 24th, 2012. The airport was built by the US military back in the 1950s. Its runway can handle very large planes, although anything larger than a twin-prop passenger plan rarely lands here.

I was met at the airport by Latoya, who was kind enough to rent me a car for the duration of my trip. Car rental on Eleuthera is an informal affair, and we agreed to settle up upon my departure the following weekend. As Latoya drove me to the Cape Eleuthera Institute - a two hour drive! - she talked to me about the culture of the island, her life, and the upcoming junior Junkanoo, but more on that later.

I ended my first day by visiting with the local marine biology researchers at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, listening to some of the interns discussing their research, and enjoying a couple of rum mixers as the sun set.

Day 02 - Preacher's Cave and Island Driving

The majority of my first full day on the island was spent driving around and exploring the long, thin island. This included driving up to Preacher's Cave at the north tip of the island. Preacher's is the site of the first European settlement on the island. In 1647, a group of British colonists led by Capt. William Sayle arrived in the waters north of Eleuthera. Their ship wrecked on a reef just offshore (this reef is now known as the Devil's Backbone). The would-be colonists struggled to shore and eeked out a meager existence for several years.

Preacher's Cave Beach, Eleuthera, Bahamas

They found a natural cave formation which resembled a cathedral, where they began holding religious services - the site known today as Preacher's Cave. You can learn more about the archaeological work here by visiting the University of South Florida's page on 3D documentation of the site.

Preacher's Cave

A number of interesting sites exist along the central road which runs the length of Eleuthera. The Queen's Highway runs past a number of beautiful views and intriguing heritage resources. This includes the Glass Window Bridge, which is the narrowest point of the island and home to some incredible scenery.

View Looking East from Glass Window Bridge, the Caribbean Sea

View Looking West from Glass Window Bridge, the Atlantic Ocean

The northern half of Eleuthera was once home to a thriving a pineapple industry as well. Indeed, Eleuthera was once known as the breadbasket of the Bahamas because of the rich array of agricultural goods it produced. The soil is particularly fertile, owing to the high amount of red clay which makes up this part of the island, carried to the island from Western Africa by the Trade Winds over the course of millions of years. The pineapple industry collapsed in the 1950s and '60s after Hawaii became a US state and pineapple production shifted to the Pacific. All that exists today of this once thriving industry are a series of empty, crumbling silos which follow the Queen's Highway for several miles.

A Crumbling Silo Offers Hints to Eleuthera's Agricultural Past

Silos along the Queen's Highway, Eleuthera, Bahamas

I spent the rest of the day picking up a group of researchers from Monmouth University who had also come to the island. This group included John Tiedemann, who has spent the better part of a decade bringing marine biology students to the island. Indeed, all the folks from Monmouth came the island because of John's past experiences with students. Pedram Daneshgar, Ursula Howson, and Jim Nickels (of the Urban Coast Institute) also came to the island with Tiedemann. The five of us spent the next several hours seeing the sights Eleuthera had to offer.

Day 03 - Investigating Plantations

I spent the better part of Thursday morning exploring a handful of ruins associated with the Gibson Family. This family name is well-known throughout the Bahamas, and according to locals, at least a thousand people on Eleuthera share the Gibson surname. I met Perry Gibson at around 9am and he took me into the hills of southern Eleuthera. There, hidden by generations of jungle growth, was his great-great-grandfather's house. Perry's ancestor was a British planter who moved to the island in the 1840s with a handful of slaves, some of whom bore him children. Perry and other Gibsons trace their ancestry through these relations.

The Remains of the Gibson Plantation House, Elethera, Bahamas

Perry shared many family stories with me about the house and its significance to his family. His mother was born in the house back in the 1940s and he had found memories of "rambling" around the area as a teenager and enjoying its quiet remoteness. The house is part of a much larger complex which includes the remains of the first Anglican church on the island, a large stone wall, and the potential remains of a number of small slave dwellings. This is one of the sites Monmouth University will document during a week-long trip with students in spring of 2013.

A Close-Up of the Gibson Plantation House

I spent the rest of my third day on the island looking at other sites and relaxing with Paul Albury's The Story of the Bahamas while sipping rum on one of Eleuthera's many beaches.

Day 04 - More Plantations and Ruins

Rich Veit arrived on the island while I rambled around during my third day on Eleuthera and we began his second day on the island by looking at Deal's Plantation (sometimes spelled as Dielh). This was another plantation reportedly built in the 1830s or 1840s. We parked along the Queen's Highway and began a 1.5 hour trek along a recently abandoned road towards the western side of south Eleuthera. We first came upon some sort of agricultural building, with many small windows or holes in the walls, presumably for ventilation.

Agricultural Building at Deal's Plantation, Eleuthera, Bahamas

As we continued along the old road, we encountered other structures of varying size and complexity. This included a large building with two chimneys.

A Large, Two-Chimney Building at Deal's Plantation, Eleuthera, Bahamas

We found evidence of various modifications to the structure, including the sealing of one chimney.

Wrought iron shutter fixings and transfer-print whitewares offered clues about the nineteenth century occupation of the structure.

Rich Veit and Wrought Iron Shutter Hardward at Deal's Plantation

Blue Transfer Ware at Deal's Plantation, Eleuthera, Bahamas

We continued to explore the area and were treated to a wonderful view of an empty beach. We quickly agreed this was the perfect spot for sack lunches with students when we returned in 2013.

The Perfect Lunch Spot, Deal's Plantation, Eleuthera, Bahamas

We left Deal's Plantation and began exploring other parts of south Eleuthera. This included a brief trip to Old Bannerman Town, another nineteenth century settlement abandoned sometime in the 1900s. We found the remains of a large church and some smaller structurs, as well as the tantalizing remains of a cemetery eroding into the sea.

Church Remains at Old Bannerman Town, Eleuthera, Bahamas

We ended the day back at the Cape Eleuthera Institute and took a boat out to a series of sandbars to watch the sun set and have a cool Kalik.

Sandbar 'Islands' near the Cape Eleuthera Institute, Bahamas

Day 5 - Spanish Wells and Junkanoo

My final full day on the island was spent driving north again to look some of the sights on the north half of Eleuthera. This included a leisurely lunch with Rich Veit in Hatchet Bay, which had been hit particularly hard by Hurricane Irene in August, 2012. Irene hovered above north Eleuthera for 19+ hours, and although repairs had progressed rapidly, evidence of Irene's impact were still visible.

Aftermath of Irene: A Wrecked Sailboat in Hatchet Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas

I took Rich to Preacher's Cave and then we decided to visit Spanish Wells. I had been hearing about this place all week from locals and researchers at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. I was told repeatedly that Spanish Wells was home to an all-white population descended from the original British settlers (with some additional settlers arriving in the subsequent centuries since the 1640s).

Spanish Wells is a small island located to the east of Eleuthera, and can only be reached by a small ferry which operates all day. We boarded this ferry, located next to a liquor store, paid our four dollars, and headed to Spanish Wells. We were treated to a small, tight-knit community reminiscent of New England fishing villages, complete with brightly painted, modest houses.

Spanish Wells, Eleuthera, Bahamas

Only upon returning to states and doing some research did I realize that a group of anthropologists - including Bob Carr - had found European burials near Preacher's Cave which, when subjected to genetic testing, had the gene for a rare form of dwarfism. A gene shared by many of the inhabitants in Spanish Wells. A truly fascinating place indeed!

"The Oldest House in Spanish Wells"

Our final day on Eleuthera came to an end in Tarpum Bay, where we were treated to junior Junkanoo. Junkanoon - named after a slave remembered as John Canoe (at least in the Bahamas) - is a carnival commemorating the tradition of releasing slaves from their work on Christmas Day. Today, the festival involves parades with elaborate costumes, musical performances, and floats. Junior Junkanoo on Eleuthera is a time when students embrace this tradition. They spend weeks preparing their costumes, building floats, and practicing music - all of which combines in a one-night festival attended by folks from across the island. While leaving Spanish Wells, we shared the ferry with a family we later saw at Junkanoo.

Junior Junkanoo, Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera, Bahamas - January 28, 2012

Day 6 - Returning Home

My final day in the Bahamas was uneventful. I awoke early and returned home via Nassau. The plan was full of families who had spent the previous days at various resorts like Atlantis. I thought to myself with a hint of sadness that most of them would never experience the rich cultural heritage of the Bahamian people, opting instead to stay in towering hotels on man-made islands of sand.

In the coming years I plan to return to the Bahamas for a number of reasons. I hope to expand on previous oral histories of the islands (see Jenkins Bahamian Memories: Island Voices of the Twentieth Century). Locals and researchers at the Cape Eleuthera Institute alike where extremely excited when I discussed my plans for creating an Eleuthera Oral History archive in the coming months and years. I also look forward to documenting the historic structures of Spanish Wells and plantations with Rich Veit in the coming years.

The trip was, in every way possible, a complete success.
Thanks for reading,
Ed