Many roads in the capitol gain their names from where they start or finish: Hospital Road, Airport Road, Lighthouse Road. Scores of road and place names tend to be called after the people who lived on or near these places, while others have more obscure historical or colloquial origins. A common practice in the Islands was to name towns after governors of the territory. Cockburn Town, Cockburn Harbour, and Balfour Town were all named after governors of the Bahamas.

One place name that has always intrigued me is Colonel Murray's Hill, now commonly called Nooky Hill. The hill was named after Colonel Alexander Murray who served as King's Agent from 1791 until 1799 and built his house there. Colonel Murray was sent to the capitol to knock the salt proprietors into shape. They resented being under the control of the Bahamas Government and having to pay the exorbitant taxes that were levied on their salt exports. This site was later the home of the American space tracking station that monitored the heart rate of John Glenn when he completed his first orbit of the Earth in 1962. Nowadays, this famous hill is locally known as Nooky Hill as it became a favorite parking spot for lovers on the Island. It's now the home of the Nooky Hill Night Club where many of the Islands' young -- as well as young at heart -- go to "strut their stuff."

Other interesting place and road names that have always tickled my curiosity include Scandal Corner, Pillory Beach, Palm Grove, and Overback the Damp as well as Close Haul Road, Hawkes Nest, and Riding Place.

Scandal Corner, a name which conjures up numerous scenarios, is situated where the car park for the local bank is now located. According to legend, it derived its name from the fact that a large public water tank was once located there. When the town folk went to collect their water every day, they would exchange the latest scandal and gossip.

Pillory Beach, situated on the northwestern side of the Island, owes its name to a well recorded incident in Turks & Caicos history. In 1764, the French, who wished very much to gain control over the Islands and the Bermudian salt rakers who resided there, built two huge concrete monuments. These offensive monuments became known as The Pillories and towered some 90 feet high. However, the French government later backed down, claiming that The Pillories were not erected as an attempt to establish sovereignty over the Islands but were instead meant for navigational purposes only, as French ships were being wrecked on the island and the crews attacked and the ships pillaged. Both these monuments were said to have been destroyed by 1850 and the remains of the one in the capitol used for local building purposes.

Palm Grove was the name of the graceful pillared and turreted house of Mr. B. C. Frith, who was one of the foremost salt proprietors in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, this beautiful old house became termite ridden and was pulled down after it was purchased by Cable & Wireless to make way for the three old Cable & Wireless staff houses which remain there today. Subsequently, the whole area became known as Palm Grove and used to be one of the islands most desirable addresses.