Freeport is the largest city on Grand Bahama Island. The city is considered a free trade zone, which means that its businesses will pay no taxes until 2054. Although tourism is the city's main source of income, the two hurricanes of 2004 have caused a major decline in visitors to the island. British author John Hill was born on Freeport in 1971. Perhaps this explains the residents commitment to literature. Unlike other islands, Freeport has two public libraries.
Lucaya is a suburb of Freeport. It is a popular port of call for cruise ships. This section of the Island contains many of its top resorts, as well as the UNEXSO Dive Operation. UNEXSO offers scuba diving, shark feeding and a dolphinarium, which is a large aquarium for dolphins.
Although East Grand Bahama Island was once the home of a United States Airport missile tracking station, it is now a base of operations for the Bahamas Film Studio, which is a subsidiary of Gold Creek Enterprises film studio. In fact, two of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean movies were filmed on this part of the island.
West End Grand Bahama has an interesting history. During the Prohibition era, arms smugglers and rum runners from Canada, England and Nassau would store arms and liquor here, prior to shipping it off to the United States. This section of the island was once a popular gangster hangout, which was frequented by illustrious characters such as Al Capone and Augustus Hepburn.
During the Civil War, Grand Bahama Island was a source for smuggled goods needed by the Confederate Army. Fast forward to the early 1950s, when an American investor, Wallace Groves, and British financier, Sir Charles Hayward were inspired to develop the island. They negotiated with the Government of The Bahamas, which led to the signing of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement, which established Freeport as a free trade zone.
