Astrolabe

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 ...

The unfinished story of John Ney Reynolds, 19th century salt proprietor, merchant, cattleman, and guano exporter. Story & Historic Images By Jeff Dodge John Ney Reynolds and his wife Bridget were an Irish couple who emigrated to the Turks & Caicos Islands around 1865. The story of this entrepreneur and his family has been painstakingly re-constructed with original ...

Story & Images By Paul Ward Experiencing the hustle and bustle of development in the Turks & Caicos today, especially on Providenciales, it is hard to believe that the basic infrastructure was put into place only a little more than 50 years ago. In 1967, Provident Limited, a development company headed by Fritz Ludington, identified the potential ...

What is the origin of a mysterious collection of vintage images of Grand Turk? Story and Illustrations By Jeff Dodge What was the connection between the Turks & Caicos Islands and a paper salesman from Los Angeles, California? This question came up after I noticed that a number of the vintage Turks Islands postcards in my collection ...

The Frith family of Palm Grove, Grand Turk. Story and Illustrations By Jeff Dodge Today, the name Palm Grove designates a neighborhood on Grand Turk that’s just south of Cockburn Town. How many residents of this neighborhood know where the name Palm Grove originated or the history behind the name?  Palm Grove was the name that the Benjamin ...

Captain Edward Lightbourn Story & Images Courtesy Antoinette Lightbourn Butz Captain Edward Lightbourn was my great-great-great uncle. I researched this article through many documents found on Bermuda and the Turks & Caicos Islands, particularly from a letterbook in my possession and a set purchased by the Bermuda Archives in 2018. Background Edward Lightbourn was born in the Heron Bay ...

The origins of Junkanoo — Part 2 By Christopher Davis, Alex Kwofie, Angelique McKay and Michael P. Pateman In the Summer 2022 issue of the Astrolabe, the authors detailed various legends of the origins of Junkanoo from European influences and mimicry to the Ahanta General, Jan Kwaw from Pokesu (today’s Princess Town) in Southwestern Ghana. However, the ...

The history of salt production in the Turks & Caicos Islands (Part II). Story & Postcard Images Courtesy Jeff Dodge Salt was the most important industry on the Turks & Caicos Islands for almost 300 years. Salt was of critical importance, not only for culinary purposes, but to preserve meat and fish. Since salt production involved so ...