New Plymouth
We rented a
golf cart and headed off to New Plymouth at the south end of the island. Most
of the vehicles on the road are golf carts which are convenient and much less
expensive than cars. We stopped at
several of the beaches facing the Atlantic just to see what they had to offer.
The settlement has a population of about 450. Our first stop was at the post
office to get stamps for post cards. We then visited each of the three grocery
stores to check availability of goods and compare prices. We also visited the
local museum, Vert’s Model Shop, the sculpture garden and two local
restaurants.
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| Loyalist Monument |
The Albert Lowe Museum is located in one of the oldest houses in New Plymouth. The Lowe family is famous for their boat building skills, crafting model ships and paintings. Albert Lowe designed and built many of the wooden sailing vessels that supported the fishing industry and provided transportation for the people of the Abacos. He is also renown for the model ships he crafted and passed this skill on to his son, Vertrum who continues this family tradition. Vert is now in his eighties. He has built over 600 models and sells them out of his workshop. Vert’s brother, Alton is recognized as one of the foremost artists with most of his works depicting life in the Bahamas. We spent some time with Vert in his workshop admiring his craftsmanship and learning more about New Plymouth.
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| Vert Lowe |
New Plymouth was settled by Loyalists who fled persecution and oppression by the victorious rebels who founded the United States of America. These faithful subjects of the English Crown moved to the Bahamas and established plantations similar to those they left behind in the Carolinas and Georgia. Those arriving from New York believed the Bahamas would become a hub for world trade bringing English goods to the islands for distribution to other parts of the Americas. The plantations failed due to the poor soil of the Bahamas. New Plymouth never became the commercial center envisioned by the merchants. Today, New Plymouth has a population of about 450 many of which are direct descendants of the Loyalist families.
The town has
created a beautiful memorial garden filled with statuary and busts of
distinguished persons who played a significant role in the history of New
Plymouth and the Bahamas. We stopped by
to learn more about these people and admire the bronze works of art. The most prominent piece is dedicated to the
memory of the early Loyalist settlers.
We completed
our tour of the town by taking lunch at The Wrecking Tree Restaurant which was
built next to a the tree under which goods salvaged from ships wrecked near New
Plymouth were inventoried before being shipped to Nassau for sale. As was the case in Key West, Florida,
wrecking was a major source of income for many of the town’s residents. The food was great and prices reasonable.
This is where the locals come for lunch or “take-away”.
For dessert,
we went to Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar for a taste of the original “Goombay
Smash”. Miss Emily is alleged to be the
first to concoct this now wide-spread rum and fruit drink which is found
throughout the islands. Like Coca Cola,
Miss Emily’s recipe is a secret and no one makes a “Goombay” exactly as the one
served at the Blue Bee Bar. We went in
for one and drank two each. Carla really
liked the décor. T-shirts (and other unmentionable
items of clothing) left behind by previous patrons hung from the ceiling.
Dollar bills, business cards and boat cards were glued to the walls. Carla made sure our boat card found a
prominent location. We left feeling good
knowing we were contributing to the local economy and leaving our mark on the
island.
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