Times of the Islands Summer 2023

astrolabe newsletter of the Turks & Caicos National Museum
terms of the lease. At some point, possibly about 1882,
Reynolds became aware that bat guano from the caves
on the northwest side the island would be a profitable
export commodity and before long he was exporting it to
Jamaica and other islands where sugar cane was grown.
The guano operation petered out after a few years,
but the cattle operation was successful and eventually
Reynolds had as many as 1,500 head of cattle on the
island. He sold beef to the inhabitants of Grand Turk
and hides to Haiti. After Reynolds’ death, the cattle were
hunted by local Islanders—possibly by Americans as
well—to the extent that by 1939 there were no cattle left
on East Caicos.
This was confirmed when a small group of Californians
that included John Reynolds’ daughter, Grace Reynolds
Lake, went to East Caicos in 1940 with the intent of forming
a colony on the land Grace had inherited from her
father. They had been led to believe that they would be
able to supplement their diet with beef from wild cattle
roaming the island. However, after three days of searching
the island for cattle the “colonists” came up empty
handed—there were no cattle to be found.
Sisal on East Caicos
Following the death of John N. Reynolds on March 5,
1890, the property he held in trust for his children on
East Caicos was leased to a newly formed company that
intended to grow and process sisal there. The East Caicos
Sisal Company was officially registered in 1891. It was
managed by Frith & Murphy Co. They hired A. Lewis Jones
as their manager as well as an engineer, several clerks
and 300–400 workers. It’s possible Reynolds explored
whether sisal would grow successfully on East Caicos
prior to his death, but there is no evidence of this.
Buildings where the sisal was processed and barracks
for the workers were built at Breezy Point and Jacksonville.
In addition, a 14 mile long rail system was constructed so
that donkeys pulling rail cars could move sisal from the
fields to Jacksonville where it would be processed and
then shipped.
The Hon. Thomas Capper A.B., Jamaica’s Inspector of
Schools, observed during a brief stopover at Jacksonville
in 1885, that the truck system was being employed there
and that laborers were being fired unless they spent most
of their wages at the company’s store even though the
truck system was outlawed in 1881. (Note: Tokens bearing
the name of the East Caicos Sisal Co. have never been
found.) By 1919, the superior qualities of manila hemp
from the Philippines caused sisal prices to decline to such
an extent that the East Caicos Sisal Co. was forced to
cease operation.
John Ney Reynolds’ death and legacy
John Reynolds wrote and signed his Will on December
28, 1889. In it he states that “being of sound mind, but
advanced in years owing to the uncertainty of life deem
it advisable to make this my last Will and Testament to
whit . . .” In this Will, he leaves the 1,288 acres of land at
Breezy Point to his wife Elizabeth and daughters Alice and
Grace—each to receive a 1/3rd interest. He nominated his
wife, Elizabeth, to be the sole Executor.
On February 4, 1890, John Reynolds wrote an addendum
to his last Will and Testament whereby he left the
remaining years of the 99-year lease for land on East
Caicos to his eight children. Here he names them: Mary
Reynolds; Norah (Leonore) Baker, (the wife of Dr. W.W.
Baker); Eleanor Reynolds Frith, the wife of Daniel T. Frith;
Alice Bridget Reynolds; John Ney Reynolds Jr.; Robert
Reynolds; Henry Reynolds and Gracie Reynolds. In addi-
Left: This image shows a building and sisal plants at the East Caicos
Sisal Co., circa 1895.
Above: This rail car was used for hauling sisal from the fields to
Jacksonville for processing.
TURKS & CAICOS NATIONAL MUSEUM COLLECTION
Times of the Islands Summer 2023 69