The merits of the Bahamas Historical Society

How can one talk about history and not mention the Bahamas Historical Society?

Founded in 1959 by Lady Mary Elizabeth Arthur, the wife of Sir Raynor Arthur, the then Governor of the Bahamas, it is one of the older non-profit cultural and educational organisations in the country, but tips its hat to the other BHS – the oldest not-for-profit in the country; the Bahamas Humane Society.

Dedicated to stimulating interest in Bahamian history and to the collection and preservation of material relating to that history, the society operates an easy-to-find museum, located on the northwest corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Shirley Street, in a building inherited from the Imperial Order Daughter of the Empire (IODE).

Five days a week, a team of volunteers keep the doors of the museum open and the public is welcome to visit. The entrance fee is $5 per adult, no charge for children. It is closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

It can’t compete with the British Museum or the Smithsonian, but it is cool and well-laid-out.

Once inside, the visitor starts at the left corner and works their way around the room. Starting with the Lucayans, one sees how the Bahamas has changed since 1492, when Columbus discovered America. But please don’t think that he discovered the North American continent, for that wasn’t “discovered” until Easter 1515, by Juan Ponce de Leon. By that year, the original inhabitants had been carried off by the Spaniards.

The Eleutherian Adventurers (1648) were the first European settlers to make a permanent settlement. Their boat was destroyed on a coral reef, but those hardy folks survived, well enough to make a donation to Harvard. It was the third and, with the exception of that made by John Harvard himself, at that time the largest donation.

Continue through the Loyalist era and slavery, the ups and downs of the Bahamian economy, right through to the 21st century, including Junkanoo.

School groups get special treatments, often having the museum to themselves.

The Society welcomes new members and keeps in touch, digitally, with a monthly newsletter. The latest e-mail confirmed the monthly talk about Bahamian history.

The Society welcomes new members and once a month – usually o the last Thursday – offers talks on virtually all aspects of Bahaman history. The upcoming meeting is scheduled for February 23, when Wayne Neely will explain “The Impact of Hurricane Dorian on the Bahamas - A Comparison Study of this Hurricane with the Hurricanes of the Late 1800s and Early 1900s”. Wayne is a meteorologist with 32 years of experience and author of several books about hurricanes. These talks are open to the public and the speaker always takes questions from the audience.