The History of Cat Island

It is believed that the earliest residents of Cat Island were the peaceful Arawaks and you can explore caves said to have been used by them for shelter.

While history shows Christopher Columbus landed on San Salvador in 1492, there is evidence his first landing actually may have been on Cat Island at what is now referred to as Columbus Point in the south.

During the 1600s, pirates and privateers hid out in the island's bays and coves, preying on unsuspecting vessels that sailed by on their way from the Old World. The first permanent settlement on Cat Island was established by the Loyalists in 1783, who set up plantations to take advantage of the fertile soil. Crops at various times included cotton, pineapples, sisal and tomatoes, which were sent to market in Nassau. Remnants of the railroad that transported produce from the farms to the sea can still be seen near the town of Old Bight.

After the cotton was infested by weevils and slavery was abolished in the 1800s, many of the Loyalists left the island and bequeathed their land to their slaves. Ruins of some of the major homesteads can still be seen today, including Colonel Andrew Deveaux's in Port Howe and Henry Hawkins Armbrister's near New Bight. Descendants of those early settlers remain in the same towns of their ancestors.

Father Jerome, or Monsignor John Hawkes, also contributed to Cat Island's history. Trained as an architect, with every bishop clamoring for one of his designs during his heyday, he eventually settled here in 1939 at the age of 62. He built St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, because he patterned his life after the Saint, and lived as a penitent hermit at The Hermitage, a medieval monastery carved out of the limestone cliffs atop Mount Alvernia as a place for meditation. He was the "conscience" of the Island, mediating disputes and was also benefactor to them when they were in need. He died in 1956 and is buried in the cave where he once lived.

Cat Island has not changed much over the years and it is one of the few islands of The Bahamas that retains the essence of bygone days.