Abaco Islands - History and Culture

Abaco Islands - History and Culture

(Est. 2000 pop 12,500) The Abaco islands are a chain of islands and cays covered in pine forests, stretching in a curve for 130 miles from Walker's Cay in the N to Hole in the Wall in the S. The Taino name for Abaco was Lucayoneque, although the first Spanish reference to it was Habacoa, a name also used for Andros. The Spanish did not settle, but by 1550 they had kidnapped all the Indian inhabitants for slavery elsewhere and the islands remained uninhabited for 200 years, despite a brief French attempt at settlement in 1625 and visits by pirates and fishermen. In 1783 over 600 loyalists left New York for Abaco, settling first at Carleton (N of Treasure Cay beach but no longer visible) and then moving to Marsh Harbour. Other groups settled further S but all found it hard to make a living on the small pockets of soil and of the 2,000 who arrived in the 1780s, only about 400 (half white and half black) were left in 1790.

Wrecking was a profitable pastime and Abaco was ideally placed on a busy shipping route to take advantage of its reefs and sand banks. Sponge, pineapple, sisal, sugar and lumber were later developed but never became big business. Wrecking also declined after the construction of lighthouses. The lighthouse on Elbow Cay at Hope Town was built in 1863, after the wreck in 1862 of the USS Adirondack, despite sabotage attempts by local people. By 1900 Hope Town was the largest town in the Abacos, with a population of 1,200 engaged in fishing, sponging, shipping and boat building. The boats made in Abaco were renowned for their design and the builders became famous for their construction skills. Boats, though made of fibreglass, are still made on Man-O-War Cay today.

The inhabitants of Abaco continued to live barely at subsistence levels until after the Second World War, when the Owens-Illinois Corporation revived the lumber business, built roads and introduced cars. An airport was built at Marsh Harbour and banks arrived. When the pulpwood operation ended in the 1960s sugar replaced it but was short lived. Nowadays the major agribusiness is citrus from two huge farms which export their crop to Florida. Abaco has developed its tourist industry slowly and effectively and has a high employment rate. Resorts are small and the atmosphere is casual and friendly even in the most luxurious hotels.

The main centre on Abaco is Marsh Harbour, which is the third largest town in the Bahamas (Pop 6,000). Its name reflects the swampy nature of much of Greater Abaco. The scrub and swamp give the island a rather desolate appearance, but like many islands, life revolves around the offshore cays and the coastal settlements. The area S of Marsh Harbour owes its development and particularly its roads to lumber companies. There are miles and miles of pine forests, secondary growth after the heavy logging earlier this century.

Nobody lives S of Sandy Point although there is a lighthouse at Hole in the Wall. Roads are better in the N, where they are mostly paved, while in the S they are dirt.

Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated on 5 Nov with parades through the streets led by the Guy to a big bonfire in the evening (no fireworks).

Marsh Harbour
The town straggles along the flat S shore of a good and busy yachting harbour. It has the major airport about 3 miles from the town and is the commercial centre of Abaco. As you drive in from the airport you pass government offices, supermarkets and lots of churches and liquor stores. The town has a large white population, but at the last census 40% were found to be Haitian, most of whom lived in the districts of Pigeon Pea and The Mud and worked as domestic servants in the white suburbs. Many Haitians have since been repatriated however. Shops are varied and well stocked and Barclays and CIBC banks are both represented. The only traffic lights on the island are outside Barclays. Batelco is a yellow building off Queen Elizabeth Drive. The Tourist Office is nearby. The two main food stores are Golden Harvest and Abaco Market. The Bahamas Family Market on Front Street sells mainly fruit and vegetables grown on Abaco. The Marsh Harbour Dental Clinic is near Abaco Market.