Red Bays, Andros

A Bahamian cultural and heritage gold mine. At the North-Western side of Andros and well off the beaten trail, you will find the magical settlement of Red Bays. Oral accounts say that it was named after the the reddish sand found at the natural bay. As the only settlement on the western side of Andros, Red Bays is an extremely unique place with a proud history. The story begins in Florida, where African slaves who had escaped from their slave plantations joined forces with the Seminole Indians. They lived together peacefully and shared their own cultures and traditions with each other. As such, these group of people became known as the “Black Seminoles.” Around the 1820’s, as the United States continued to expand and control more territory, these Black Seminoles feared that if they were recaptured that they would go back to being slaves. They began to leave Florida in secret, and found a home in Red Bays, Andros. These Black Seminoles lived in complete isolation, hidden from the world and continuing many of the traditions that they had adhered to for generations. In Andros, there were stories of the “Wild Indians of the West,” on that island who lived quietly in their own corner. It wasn’t until 1930’s when an anthropologist conducting research in The Bahamas came across a descendant of the Black Seminoles that the settlement began gaining recognition. Today, many of the Bahamians living in Red Bays are direct descendants of the original settlers. Situated at a 45 minute drive from the nearest town through thick pine forest and wetlands, Red Bays is now adopting to modern life, however it still holds to many native American and African cultures. These cultures include craft work such as woodcarving and straw weaving. One of the most notable wood carvers in the world is a resident of Red Bays, Henry Wallace, who has had his works displayed in the Smithsonian. Thank you to Stuart Hanna , a big supporter of the Everything Bahamian page who helped with this article