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original Loyalists were mainly from New Stella Maris, at the northern part of the
England and New Jersey and arrived on island, is the center of the island's tourism
Long Island after fleeing the American industry and features several resorts.
Revolution. These families farms raising Buckley's is home to Nelson Granville
cattle and sheep. In the 1790s settlers MacFarlane Major High School, which is
came to Long Island the Carolinas to set amongst the best public schools in the
up cotton plantations. The plantations Bahamas.
flourished for only a few years and, by the
time of the abolition of slavery in 1834, Other settlements include Scrub Hill,
most had been abandoned. There are Simms, and Burnt Ground.
many ruins from this era today, the Most of the island's settlements are named
majority of which are overgrown by bush. after the families that first settled them. As
There are also remains of some of the a result, many (but not all) are named in
houses built after slavery, which are the possessive form: The settlement of the
usually small and built of stone. Gray family, for example, is known as
Originally, they had thatched roofs; today, Gray's.
most are shingled. The descendants of
these families continue to be widespread One main road, originally designed for
on the island. carriages, runs from Cape Santa Maria, at
the northern tip of Long Island, to the
Long Island Settlements southern tip at Gordon's. Transport on
Clarence Town, at south-central portion Long Island is generally road-based, with
of Long Island, has a population of 350. limited taxi service available, particularly
from Stella Maris to Deadman's Cay and
Deadman's Cay is the major settlement at Clarence Town.
the center of the island and is home to
Deadman's Cay Airport, which offers Economy & Tourism Part of the economy
several flights each week to Nassau and is is based on tourism and farming, but
the island's largest and busiest airport. fishing dominates. The inhabitants grow
peas, corn, bananas, and pineapples, and
Mangrove Beach is the home of the they raise small livestock such as pigs,
island's boat-building trade.
chickens, goats, and sheep, plus cattle are
Hamilton's is noted for its extensive cave raised for export. Due to the generally
system that is partially open for tours. inhospitable soil of the Bahamas, much of
the farming done on Long Island is in the
Salt Pond is home of the Long Island
Regatta, an annual event that draws pot-hole style, which involves planting in
tourists from around the world. fertile holes in the limestone where good
top soil collects. This method of farming
