"'Sites' and 'Sights' in Nassau and New Providence in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries" & copy; Gail Saunders

As leisure for the wealthy increased, travel became more popular and Nassau with

its close proximity to the American mainland, became an attraction, a get-away from the

cold north winter.

As you read in part I, the Royal Victoria Hotel's portico was a gathering place for

guests who were entertained by Bahamians, and who were eager to sell their wares;

Other attractions surprisingly, perhaps, included the Shouter Chapel an African

Episcopal Methodist Church located on Blue Hill Road, in Grant's Town, attracted

parties of visitors. A writer Drysdale, described the visit to the Shouter Chapel:

The congregation sang several curious hymns, the minister prayed, and

afterwards preached a sermon, warming up towards the last till he had

some of his women hearers rocking their bodies to and fro, crying amen,

and giving the other signs of excitement often seen in 'revival' meetings.

Fort Charlotte, built by Governor, Lord Dunmore between 1787 and 1789 was

included in the sites of Nassau. Powles described it thus:

There are a number of subterranean chambers attached to this fort

which are worth a visit. Common rumour says these are connected

with Government House, two miles away, by a subterranean passage,

but this is all nonsense. The fort is surrounded with a dry moat, crossed

by a drawbridge. From the top of the fort you realise how many

islands surround New Providence, and also how little of the island

itself is under cultivation. To landward it rests on nothing but green

bush! And yet, only fifty years ago, this island was a rich garden, producing

cotton, coffee, (sic) sugar, (sic) and many other things that go to stock the

markets of the world!

On Bay Street visitors were intrigued by the Fish Market and Vendue House,

(now the Pompey Museum) where auctions were held and the Sponge Exchange where

sponges were sold.

Further east along Bay Street were (and still are) the Public Buildings including

the House of Assembly, the Senate Chamber and the Colonial Secretary's Office, The

Nassau Public Library, formerly a jail, was located on Shirley Street to the south of the

Public Buildings.

Still further east off Shirley Street was the Queen's Staircase, "a great passage

way cut in the rock some sixty or seventy feet deep, probably originally constructed to

make a quick masked road between the fort which stands just above and the shored

=Up the stairs, "one comes across the fort itself, called 'Fort Fincastle' built in

shape of a paddle-wheel steam boat" As now, there was a fine view from the top- The

Water Tower had not yet been constructed-

=Close by the Fort, was the residence of the Anglican Bishop called Addington

House described by Powles as "one of the prettiest places in Nassau."

Travelling east, 'along a fairly good road - for The Bahamas - one passed a

"collection of very curious houses belonging to the coloured people" and then arrived at

the Eastern Parade, where polo and base-ball matches were played.

Near to the Parade was St Matthew's Anglican Church, built in 1802. It is now

the oldest extant church building in New Providence.

Further east, one passed Thompson's Folly, a private home containing a lush

garden. A little to the east of this was Fort Montagu built between 1741-1742 by

Engineer Peter Henry Bruce. It still stands.

Between Fort Montagu and 'east end', were the settlement of Fox Hill/

Sandilands inhabited "almost entirely by native Africans and their immediate

descendants."

Near to the Fort was 'Waterloo' or the 'Lake of Fire' In the late 19th and

early 20th century, the lake was phosphorescent; Drysdale who visited it at night,

described it, viz: "The first stroke of the oars gives you a fine start, for as soon as they stir

the water up they seem to be dipped in melted gold, and one cannot resist the

belief that there is actual fire there."

The lake, which is artificial, had been constructed to store turtles. Its bed is cut

out of solid rock, only a few yards from the sea, with which it is connected by a small

canal. When the gate was opened, the tide rose and fell in the lake. Its phosphorescence

which today had disappeared, had not been determined.

Visitors also drove out west. Sights included Lakes Killarney and Cunningham,

both brackish water which rises and falls with the tide. They are also the home of ducks

and coots and their surroundings were sometimes used as picnic grounds.

Powles also mentioned the Caves and the African settlement of Adelaide.

Adelaide was settled by 157 Liberated Africans off the Portuguese ship Rosa captured by

the British Navy in 1831. Adelaide Village, though with a relatively small population,

survives to this day. Despite progress in the form of well paved roads, electricity,

telephones and a modern school it has retained its unique character and individuality.

Only the intrepid visitor would venture to the extreme south western end of New

Providence where the ruins of the Clifton plantation could be seen. The approach to the

plantation was covered in thick bush difficult to penetrate but as Powles wrote "you will

find the remains of large gates, and what was once a wide carriage-drive, now completely

overgrown ... leading to the ruins of a large three-storied house on the English plan, with

the remains of coach-house and stabling for several carriage-horses, with large slave

buildings attached."

New Providence was an intriguing and interesting island with many heritage sites

and places of historic and natural beauty. These attributes combined with its splendid

climate, its harbour and its quaint town of Nassau, helped it to become a premier

destination for tourists.