Astrolabe

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 ...

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 ...