WEST END, located on the western tip of the island, is the oldest city on Grand Bahama Island. This picturesque fishing village is probably best known for its history as a liquor smuggling town during the prohibition.

Deadman's Reef is the home of Paradise Cove, where one can swim out to some of the best snorkeling reefs, and the Brown family, who have lived here for 100 years.

Holmes Rock & Seagrape together form a little community known for a unique cave that sits behind a local night club. It is over 200 yards in diameter and produces fresh water at low tide and salt water at high tide.

Eight Mile Rock is the 2nd largest settle- ment on Grand Bahama. The town is actually a string of settlements, lumped together, and is named after the 8 miles of solid rock contained here.

Hawksbill is a residential area, created mainly to house the workers employed in Freeport/ Lucaya. It is located on Hawksbill Creek, which lent its name to The Hawksbill Creek Agreement that paved the way for the creation of Freeport/ Lucaya.

Pinder's Point is actually a string of four connected villages (Pinder's Point, Lewis Yard, Hunter's and Mack Town). Pinder's Point, the more developed of the group, can trace its roots back to a white settler and his slaves.

Freeport/ Lucaya, the capital of Grand Bahama, and the second largest city in the Islands of The Bahamas, the city was built expressly for tropical fun. It is the site of many of the tourist beaches and activities, as well as the International Bazaar and Port Lucaya Marketplace.

Williams Town was founded by Joseph Williams, a freed slave, and some of his descendants still live there on what is called "generation land," because it was settled by one family and ownership of the land was passed on equally, generation to generation, to all members of the family.

Smith's Point is named after the Scotsman, Michael Smith, who served in the early 1800s as Commissioner of the island. Instead of money, he was given 400 acres of land. It is the venue for what has become a Wednesday night tradition on the island - the Fish Fry.

Mather Town lies next to Smith's Point (see above), just across a small channel. The quaint houses in this tiny village provide a striking contrast to the modernity of those within which it is enveloped.

Freetown received its name because it was the first place where slaves were freed in 1834. Before the advent of roads, a foot path from Old Freetown in the East was the primary thoroughfare for travelling to the settlements in the West.

High Rock gets its name from the 30-foot high rocky bluff between the coastal road and the sea. The village is built of mostly wooden framed buildings.

McLean's Town, located on a cay, is the easternmost settlement that can be reached by road. The villagers are good fishermen and those with boats ferry people to the nearby cays. The town is most famous for its annual Conch Cracking Contest.

All information from the official website of Grand Bahama, www.grand-bahama.com and copyright (c) 1998-2003 by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism.