Life on the Lumber Farm

Andros is known as the largest island in the Bahamas. It was named after Sr. Edmund Andros, who was married to Marie Craven, sister of Sir William Craven one of the Lord proprietors to whom the islands were granted by Charles II in 1670. Sir Edmund Andros was named governor of New York and governor of New England. When William and Mary took the throne in 1689, Sir Edmund was imprisoned and forced to return to England for trial, because he enraged some of the colonists who despised his strong leadership. However, he was later released without going to trial. To show their sympathy for what had happened to Sir Edmund, the Lord proprietors of the islands named the island Andros after Sir Edmund Andros. Andros is 104 miles long and 40 miles wide. It is a low lying-island indented by many mangrove-bordered creeks, some of which lead to an extensive lake that occupies a large part of the center of the island and may be reached by the Wide Opening from the west side or Fresh Creek from the north. Some of the following settlements were once considered major settlements of Andros: Nicolls Town, Mastic Point, Stafford Creek, Stanyard Creek, Fresh Creek, Berring Point, Mangrove Cay, Long Bay Cays, Driggs Hill, Kemps Bay and Pure Gold. A line of reefs run along the whole east coast of the island at a distance of approximately two miles from the shore, forming a harbor. Andros is the only island where saltwater meets freshwater. In addition to many mangrove swamps and creeks there are over thirty Blue Holes, some with a depth of over 250 feet. These Blue Holes are becoming more and more popular every day and are constantly being explored by daredevils from all over the world. Andros however, is capable of much, much more as you will learn from Life On The Lumber Farm. Life On The Lumber Farm is about a once thriving lumber industry on the island of Andros in the Bahamas since the 1940 s. It tells about the people who lived there, their way of life and their struggle for survival. It is my hope that this book will be informative and an educational tool for many.