Astrolabe

The earliest tokens of the West Caicos Sisal Company. Story & Images By Eric Schena  (A longer version of this article originally appeared in TAMS Journal, January/February 2026, Volume 66, No. 1) Beginning in the 1980s, I worked for Gene Brandenburg at Old Town Coin & Jewelry Exchange in Alexandria, Virginia. Gene quickly became a numismatic mentor, and ...

The autobiography of a National Museum. By Donald H. Keith ~ Images Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum Hi! I’m the Turks & Caicos National Museum, and I have a story to tell. Actually, a lot of stories, but this time I just want to tell you my own story, because it’s important right now and I’ve ...

Sisal production on East Caicos. By Jeff Dodge The last two issues of Astrolabe (Fall 2025 and Winter 2025/26) included articles detailing sisal production on the Caicos Islands. Although perhaps not as dramatic a story as the saga of West Caicos, the vesatile Agave fibre plant was also cultivated and processed on East Caicos. Unfortunately, the lifespan ...

The story of the West Caicos Fibre (Sisal) Company Ltd. By Jeff Dodge A species of the agave fibre plant was introduced to the Caicos Islands in the mid 1800s. At first it was hoped fibre production would replace the cultivation of cotton, which ended around 1813 due to pests, diseases, and worn out soil. The cultivation ...

The ups and downs of the sisal industry on the Caicos Islands. By Jeff Dodge The production of sisal fibre on the Caicos Islands in the mid to late 19th century was an effort to find a crop that would grow on land Loyalists from America had originally planted in cotton. In addition, the government in 1889 ...

The failed attempts to produce salt on West Caicos. Story & Historical Images By Jeff Dodge Most readers are aware that salt was once the most important industry on the Turks & Caicos Islands. This important commodity was discovered in the mid 1600s by sailors from Bermuda on their way to trade with the West Indies. They ...

Clarence Jolly had vision for moving the TCI forward. By Dr. Carlton Mills and Debby-Lee Mills Clarence T. Jolly Sr. (as he liked to be known), was a Turks & Caicos man with a vision for moving his country forward. Sadly, he was perceived by some as an invader of a territory that was apparently reserved for ...

Rare early picture postcards of the Turks & Caicos Islands. By Jeff Dodge Editor’s note: Jeff Dodge is a deltiologist (a person who collects postcards for a hobby), historian, and valuable and stalwart contributor to Times of the Islands for over a decade. His initial articles focused on the early postcards of the Turks & Caicos Islands ...

Retelling the story of The Voyage of the Priscilla. By Jeff Dodge This is a story about a story—a story written and published in 1907 by “The Mate”—John Copeland Crisson—of Grand Turk and Bermuda. It is the tale of a voyage from Bermuda to Grand Turk aboard the American schooner Priscilla. Background and the New York to Bermuda race In ...

The remarkable brush of a lifeboat with the Mouchoir Banks and TCI. Story & Illustrations By Eric Wiberg & Andrew Warren In previous editions of Astrolabe we documented how, from over 130 ships attacked around Turks & Caicos Islands and The Bahamas during World War II, at least 72 survivors landed in the TCI and a further ...

The beginning of remarkable change. Story & Photos By Richard Grainger The article in the Winter 2023/24 issue of Times of the Islands, “Blue Hills—An Authentic Seaside Settlement,” reminded me of my first visit to Blue Hills in 1971. At that time, it was the name of the entire island of Providenciales, not just one settlement. It ...

Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue films donkeys in TCI. Story & Photos By Mark S. and Amy Meyers Donkeys never asked to be brought to the Caribbean, the Far East, Europe, or even Australia. They were quite content living in Africa. Domesticated around 5000 BCE by the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, donkeys were quickly traded throughout the civilized world, ...

The controversial ownership of Breezy Point on East Caicos — Part 2 By Jeff Dodge Who were the legitimate owners of East Caicos island, or more specifically, a tract of land at Breezy Point? The answer to this question turns out to be a convoluted story that is proving difficult to unwind. This is Part Two of ...

The controversial ownership of Breezy Point on East Caicos–Part 1. By Jeff Dodge From J. Henry Pusey’s The Handbook of the Turks and Caicos Islands (1897 edition): “the large tract of land called Breezy Point was otherwise designated Cape Comet is also included in Grand Caicos. . .” Who were the legitimate owners of East Caicos Island, or ...

The life and times of James Edward (“Bobby”) Fulford. By Carlton & Debbie-lee Mills In March 2020, it was my distinct privilege to interview Mr. James “Bobby” Fulford as part of my research for a book I was contracted by FortisTCI to write on the history of electricity in the Turks & Caicos Islands. Mr. Fulford, though ...