Eleuthera Lighthouse

Up and Down the Island: South

by Everild Young

Although the road is wide and well-surfaced after Greencastle, one sees very few cars, and no houses. An occasional clearing for crops is the only thing that breaks the monotony of the bush into one arrives at the south-east point the island. But the drive is well worth taking, as the beaches right at the end are gloriously unspoiled.

A derelict lighthouse tops the final spur of rock and from it one overlooks two more massive, bush-covered rocks separated from it by a channel. These are alive with terns in the nesting season, the birds seeming to realize they cannot be disturbed.

Far away on the horizon one can see the hills of little San Salvador, adjoining Cat island, on a clear day. The water inshore by the end of Eleuthera is clear as crystal on the west side, inviting the exploration of sea gardens. On the lee side of the beach stretches for a mile or more.

Even to someone accustomed to the variety of colors in the sea all around Eleuthera, this particular spot never fails to excite the greatest admiration. The blues appear more vivid, somehow, in this wild and lovely setting, and the sands a deeper pink. The rocks below the lighthouse have been hollowed into small caves, where one may picnic to avoid being roasted by the fierce rays of the sun. If one could live on color alone the feast might make one ill from overeating.

A Shared Vision for South Eleuthera

by Michael Singer

The Lighthouse Point area is notable for its cohesive natural environment, long vistas, several unique historic places and ruins, and extensive extraordinary beaches. Both the number and diversity of ecosystems and the relative remoteness of the area contribute to the overall intrinsic environmental value of Lighthouse Point as a whole.

Another critical environmental resource is Big Pond, which is a largely undisturbed rare hypersaline lake, researched by international groups for scientific purposes.

Millars Plantation (with artifacts that date back as early as the 1780’s), the ruins of old Bannerman Town, the historic lighthouse and traces of a Lucayan presence at Lighthouse Point all represent the cultural and historical diversity of the site. Even today tourists and Eleutherans from all over the Island come to Lighthouse Point and speak of it as a sacred place, visited freely by generations of Bahamians.