Marsh Harbour

Town in Abaco, Bahamas

26°32′32″N 77°03′49″W / 26.54222°N 77.06361°W / 26.54222; -77.06361CountryBahamasIslandAbacoDistrictCentral AbacoElevation

4 m (13 ft)Population

(2012)^[1]

• Total6,283 • Estimate

(2018)^[2]

5,728Time zoneEastern Time ZoneArea code242Websitehttps://www.bahamas.com/vendor/marsh-harbour

Marsh Harbour is a town in Abaco Islands, Bahamas, with a population of 6,283 as of 2012.^[3]

The settlement lies on a peninsula just off the Great Abaco Highway, which runs south through Great Abaco to Cherokee Point and Little Harbour. North of town, the road becomes S.C. Bootle Highway, another smooth stretch that runs north and west toward Treasure Cay and Little Abaco.

Marsh Harbour has the majority of services available in all of the Abacos, including a post office, bookstore, grocery stores, specialty shops, travel agencies, and laundries. Visitors come to boat, swim or snorkel, and stay at one of the lodges located near Bay Street on the waterfront, though some adventurers reserve a day or two to kayak in the Marls on trips conducted by naturalist guides. The Marls are an extensive region of pristine mangrove habitat and open shallows called "flats" that harbour a rich variety of wildlife and offer an important fisheries, for local sustenance and for sport.

In 2019, Marsh Harbour was directly impacted by category 5 Hurricane Dorian, severely damaging most structures and infrastructure in the city.^[4]^[5]

Notable events in Marsh Harbour history

On 25 August 2001, American R&B singer Aaliyah was among nine people killed in a plane crash after departing Marsh Harbour Airport after filming the music video for her single "Rock the Boat".
Rhonda Lea Cornea Hull, Miss Commonwealth Bahamas 1985 is from Marsh Harbour, and she represented the Bahamas at the 1985 Miss World Pageant in London.
Lolita Armbrister Monpetit, Miss Bahamas 1978 was born in Dundas Town, a settlement next to Marsh Harbour. She represented the Bahamas at the Miss Universe Pageant in 1979 in Perth, Australia.
On 1 September 2019, Hurricane Dorian, a category 5 hurricane^[6] on the Saffir–Simpson scale, made landfall in Marsh Harbour, tying the record with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane for the highest sustained winds at landfall for an Atlantic hurricane.^[7]

References

^ "World Gazetteer: Bahamas - largest cities (Per geographical entity)". Archived from the original on 11 January 2013.
^ "Population of Marsh Harbour in 2020 2021 - statisticsPopulation of Marsh Harbour in 2020 2021 - statistics".
^ "World Gazetteer: Bahamas - largest cities (per geographical entity)". archive.is. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
^ "Marsh Harbour destroyed by storm". WPTV. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
^ "Abaco power grid virtually eradicated". www.tribune242.com. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
^ Wnek, Samatha (1 September 2019). "'Pure hell': Hurricane Dorian now Category 5 storm, makes landfall in northwest Bahamas". ABC News. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
^ Freedman, Andrew; Samenow, Jason. "Historic Hurricane Dorian unleashing 'catastrophic' blow in northern Bahamas, hurricane warnings posted for Florida's east coast". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 September 2019.