Astrolabe
- Raking Up the Past March 26, 2022Salt production on the Turks & Caicos Islands (Part 1) 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 many people and ...Read more about this post
- Kings of Bonefishing March 26, 2022Remembering the Jennings brothers. Story & Photos Courtesy Dr. Carlton Mills In the early 1960s, the only fishing plant in the Turks & Caicos was in South Caicos. This attracted fishermen from throughout the Islands who came over to improve their livelihood. Many of them stayed on the fishing bank for several days diving or hooking conch ...Read more about this post
- Island Visionary January 4, 2022The late “Fritz” Ludington helped initiate development on Providenciales. By Dr. Carlton Mills ~ Images Courtesy Turks & Caicos National Museum Over the last fifty years, what was once known only as Blue Hills (now Providenciales), has witnessed a remarkable transformation. One of the key players in this process was the late Frederick Ludington (affectionately known as ...Read more about this post
- Small Island, Big History September 14, 2021Grand Turk is an island of historical importance. By Dr. Carlton Mills It has been commonly taught that Christopher Columbus’ first landfall in the “New World” was San Salvador in the Bahamas. In recent years, this theory has been challenged by two Turks & Caicos Islands historians, the late H.E. Sadler and Josiah Marvel. These historians promoted ...Read more about this post
- What’s Hiding in Your Closet? June 24, 2021Donations are the lifeblood of the Turks & Caicos National Museum. Story & Photo Collages By Lisa Turnbow-Talbot Everyone knows that non-profit organizations rely on monetary donations, but for the Turks & Caicos National Museum that is not the only donation that matters. Gifts-in-kind of photographs, videotapes, books, pamphlets, manuscripts, maps, historical objects, business records, organization records, ...Read more about this post
- If Maps Could Talk . . . June 24, 2021Visualizing the Grand Turk of yesteryear. Story and Images Courtesy Marjorie Sadler In the final pages of H.E. Sadler’s book, Turks Islands Landfall, the author (my father) gives some history of North Creek in Grand Turk which President Forth (served 1848–1854) believed was a huge asset to the island simply awaiting development. Forth was the Turks & ...Read more about this post
- Selective Packing March 24, 2021The nitty-gritty of filming the East Caicos Expedition documentary. By Matthew Matlack ~ Photos by Matthew Matlack and John Galleymore Filming the East Caicos Expedition documentary was a thrilling endeavor. I had not been camping in years, I had just one experience under my belt filming in caves (which had a gift shop with snacks at the ...Read more about this post
- People of the Islands March 24, 2021Telling “A Caicos Sloop Story.” Story and Photos By Michael P. Pateman, Ph.D. and Vanessa A. Forbes-Pateman In the Summer 2019 Astrolabe, we introduced “People of the Islands.” This project seeks to tell the story of “Islanders” through a first-person narrative. The various interview topics include boat building, food/cooking, bush medicine, island migration, cultural traditions, music, dance, ...Read more about this post
- TCI in World War II January 3, 2021The Fauna, Part II 1942 By Captain Eric Wiberg In the Summer 2020 issue of the Astrolabe, the author detailed the first part of the tale of the Fauna, a 1,272-ton Dutch steamship. The Fauna left New York on May 6, 1942 destined for Grand Turk with a crew of 29 men and a load of cargo, ...Read more about this post
- Modern Crusoes January 3, 2021The rest of the story. By Jeffrey Dodge In 2017, the Astrolabe published a story I wrote about 19 Californians who went to East Caicos in 1940 with the intention of establishing a utopian colony there. (See: https://www.timespub.tc/2018/01/modern-crusoes/). Since that article was published, I have been contacted by descendants of the group’s leader, Richard Irvine. They’ve shared ...Read more about this post
- A Salty Mystery October 2, 2020Why would anyone copy this old picture postcard? By Jeffrey Dodge ~ Images Courtesy Jeffrey Dodge Why, in the early 1920s, would someone on Grand Turk island want to copy a specific 1906 picture postcard that was out of print and no longer obtainable? Was the picture on this 1906 postcard of special interest to someone? Most ...Read more about this post
- Lucayan Legacies October 2, 2020Images of the past. By Joanna Ostapkowicz ~ Images By Merald Clark (copyright) In 2017 during a visit to the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, I came across a temporary exhibit filled with children’s paintings focusing on island history, both past and present. At the very start of the exhibition were several paintings showing Columbus laying ...Read more about this post
- TCI in World War II June 25, 2020The Fauna, Part I, 1942 By Captain Eric Wiberg, Boston, MA What is remarkable about the sinking and the loss of the Fauna off the Turks & Caicos Islands is that her destination was the TCI, and her survivors spent nearly three weeks essentially circumnavigating the Islands in a lifeboat and a local sailboat over the course ...Read more about this post
- Foodways, Life and Archaeology June 25, 2020How ancient people cooked on Providenciales. Story & Photos By Dr. Andy J. Ciofalo Food is a social lubricant, which means it brings us together, gets people talking and is a central point of gatherings, holidays and life. Do you remember cooking your last meal? The way you sliced, pounded, boiled or roasted the vegetables damaged small ...Read more about this post
- The Layers of History March 24, 2020East Caicos is a treasure trove of relics. Story & Photos By John Galleymore When I was very young, I was shown at school a very basic picture depicting “How History Works.” It showed layers of the Earth with the oldest relics the deepest and those more recent near the surface. I soon came to discover this ...Read more about this post
What's Inside The Latest Edition?
On the Cover
This spectacular shot was captured by Seth Willingham, also known as @waterproject on Instagram. He’s been a professional photographer for 15 years, traveling the world capturing images of nature from beautiful destinations. He says, " From the moment I first saw Turks & Caicos from the airplane window I knew this place was going to be different. On our first night at Grace Bay, we were blessed with a glorious sunset and the colors of the sky and water were truly mind blowing."
Our Sponsors
