Cat Island is most probably named for the pirate, Arthur Catt. This 18th-century pirate supposedly came to the island repeatedly to hide his treasure. One alternative theory claims that 18th-century English settlers on the island were astounded by a large number of wild cats, presumably descended from those left behind by earlier Spanish explorers. Some also say that the island resembles a cat when seen from the air.
Cat Island is small and has a small population of fewer than 2,000 people. There are only a few towns on the island; the largest ones are Arthur's Town, Orange Creek and Port Howe. The entire island is somewhat hook-shaped and is only 48 miles long and between 2 to 4 miles wide.
Cat Island is a candidate for Christopher Columbus' first landing point in the New World. Although this distinction is claimed by other islands, one of the earlier names for the island was San Salvador. Over the years, the name changed and other islands in the region used the name, but the connection to Columbus remained.
Historians believe the original inhabitants of Cat Island were members of the Arawak tribe. Although Cat Island was explored by the Spaniards in the 15th and 16th centuries, there was no extensive permanent European settlement on the island until the end of the 18th century. In 1783, a group of English Loyalists from the new United States arrived and built cotton plantations on the land. Most of these plantations soon failed, leading to the farming of peas, corn, potatoes and pineapple by the freed slaves.
Due to its settlement history, Cat Island has many ruined buildings. Both plantation homes and slave quarters remain across the island, mostly overgrown or surrounded by later towns and villages. A major landmark on the island is Deveaux Mansion, built in the late 18th century by Navy Capt. Andrew Deveaux, who had recaptured Nassau from the Spaniards. The highest point of Cat Island and, indeed the highest point in all of the Bahamas, is Mt. Alvernia. Atop this 206-foot mountain is the Hermitage, reminiscent of a medieval monastery and built by Father Jerome Hawkes in 1939.
The most famous former resident of Cat Island is the actor, Sidney Poitier, who was born in Arthur's Town on the Island in 1927. Cat Island is also the birthplace of the Bahamanian musician, Exuma, who was born Tony McKay in the early 1940s. Cat Island is known for its musical contributions to the Bahamas, with many crediting the island as the home of indigenous Bahamanian music.
