About Long Island

The island is only about four miles (6km) wide, but a road spans most of the length. Long Island is about 165 miles or 265 kilometres southeast of Nassau. Some of the main settlements are Clarence Town, Deadman's Cay, Simms, Salt Pond(Home of The Annual Long Island Regatta), Stella Maris and Scrub Hill. Long Island is one of the Districts of the Bahamas and is known as the most scenic island in the Bahamas. The island originally was called by the Arawak name "Yuma". It was rechristened "Fernandina" by Christopher Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. Archaeological evidence shows that the Lucayan Taíno tribe settled on Long Island, as they did throughout the Bahamian chain of islands. After the demise of the Lucayans, who were carried as slaves to Hispaniola and Cuba, there was no large settlement until the arrival of the Loyalists.