Discovering the Other Plymouth — On a Tiny Island in The Bahamas

If you squint, you might mistake these waterside streets for a tiny village in Massachusetts. But in this other Plymouth, the history is a very different one. 

Some 1,300 miles as the crow flies to the south-southeast from Plymouth, Mass. is another Plymouth — one hidden away in the Abaco islands.

This little town on the 1.5-square-mile island of Green Turtle Cay is called New Plymouth — and it’s a centuries-old outpost in The Bahamas. 

New Plymouth dates back to 1786, when British Loyalists came here seeking refuge after losing the Revolutionary War. But one can easily imagine that, for them, it was a frontier as wild and unforgiving as the old Plymouth might have once been for the pilgrims. 

The stories are alive here: from the wooden cottages to the old gravestones, the 

There’s even a liquor store, called Plymouth Rock — though the stones on this island are coral. 

A weathered plaque in the old town tells the alternate history. The loyalists fled the United States and went across The Bahamas, from Harbour Island to Spanish Wells to Long Island, though most settled in New Providence. 

“Though some exiles later departed for other British possessions, others became founders of enduring Bahamian families. Their influence could be seen in every facet of local life — in government, commerce, agriculture and religion — leaving a legacy still evident in the Bahamas today. The Loyalist story is a reminder of the lasting impact of those who, driven by war and upheaval, found refuge on these islands,” the plaque tells us. 

“Divided by civil war, defeated in battle, stripped of property and possessions, persecuted and exiled by their neighbours, American Loyalists abandoned their homeland to seek their King’s protection in the Bahama Islands,” it reads.  

It’s a fascinating history, and a largely forgotten one. Today, the island is one of the most charming places to visit in The Bahamas. It’s just a short ferry from Abaco, and when you get here you’re instantly transported to a lovable little place where people get around on golf carts and the only sounds you here are the clinks of masts in the harbor. 

There are some great places to stay, too, from the legendary Bluff House, with its ocean-view rooms and its fantastic beach bar, the Tranquil Turtle; or the marina-front Green Turtle Club, a breezy, laid-back collection of cottages steps from the sea. 

But this island is most famous for somethsing else. 

It was here in the streets of New Plymouth at a place called Miss Emily’s Blue Bee Bar, where more than half a century ago, something happened that changed everything. 

Proprietor Emily Cooper came up with the perfect mix of pineapple, coconut and rum. She called it the Goombay Smash.

Today, most of the pilgrims that come to New Plymouth are coming here for a sip of one of these, usually offered up by Cooper’s granddaughter, Phylicia Smith, who expertly blends these delicious drinks from behind the counter. 

The Goombay Smash is one of the world’s greatest drinks — and a signature taste of The Bahamas. 

And we can all be very Thankful for that.