CROWN HAVEN AND ST ANNE'S PARISH
Right Reverend Michael H Eldon,
Assistant Bishop, Diocese of Nassau and The Bahamas.
During the last decade of the 19th Century and the opening years of the
20th Century there was a community of Anglicans residing on Cave Cay, located
off the north west coast of Little Abaco. The residents were mainly involved
in sponging and turtling, as well as other fishing. The church on the cay
was under the patronage of St George.
In the early thirties, 1932 and 1935 to be exact, hurricanes severely damaged
the homes and other buildings on the cay. This included St George's which,
after the hurricane of 1932, was rebuilt as a wooden church. The hurricane
of 1935 totally destroyed that new church and many of the homes.
As a result of this devastation the government, with considerable help
from Bishop John Douglish and Parish Priest Canon Frank Wyatt, persuaded
the residents to leave Cave Cay and relocate on the mainland of Little
Abaco.
The greater number of persons settled at the northern end of Little Abaco,
in a settlement which was given the name Crown Haven. The late Catechist,
Whitfield Russell, once told the writer that it was given the name by Canon
Wyatt. It was a haven after the storm and also was established in the year
of the coronation of King George VI, then the crown, in 1937. Of course,
being an Anglican, the Diocese secured a suitable piece of land in the
settlement and built on a part of it the church of St Anne, a typical wooden
Diocesan church, as well as a lodge where the priest would be able to live
when he visited the congregation.
After a number of years, the church became too small and in need of repair.
Therefore during the incumbency of Father Donald Smith the congregation,
with a little help from the Diocese of Rochester, constructed a much larger
and more imposing church on the other half of the property. It was consecrated
on the 25th July 1981, as it was completely free of debt. At the same time,
the old church was de-consecrated and is now serving the purpose of a Parish
Hall. The congregation has grown into one of the larger ones in Abaco.
The Rector and members of the congregation must be congratulated on the
sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of the community and church.
We thank God for the example and ministry of those still alive and the
many others who have been called to a higher service on another shore.
It is interesting to note that not all the residents of Cave Cay located
in Crown Haven. The late Catechist Rodriguez Fox moved to Cedar Harbour
with his family and settled there. A small wooden church was built under
the patronage of St George, as at Cave Cay, on a small portion of land
donated by the Fox family.
The presence and ministry of our church in Little Abaco owe a debt of gratitude
to the founding fathers and mothers and their descendants, for which we
say thanks be to God.
(Used with permission.)