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Swan Islands [Islas Santanilla]
HI RES MAPS SHOWING LOCATION: 1X 2X 3X NEW! Exclusive
9-Page Article! *Thanks to Matt J. McCullar For The Article BACKGROUND: In 1998, when Super Hurricane Mitch passed over Swan Island, we put a request up on our Swan Island webpage for comments. Below are the numerous comments we have received, along with additional information. ABOUT SWAN ISLAND: According to Everything2.com, the complete history of the islands is as follows: "Two small islands (3 square miles total) in the Caribbean Sea, about 97 miles north of Honduras. The islands were discovered in 1502 by Christopher Columbus on St. Anne's Day, so Columbus named them Islas Santa Ana. The islands were used as a base by pirates up to the 18th century. In 1775 they appeared on a map as Greater Swan and Lesser Swan, together the Swan Islands. The islands were occupied by the American filibuster and adventurer William Walker in 1860 during one of his attempts to invade Latin America. Following Walker's death in 1861, Honduras took over the islands. In 1863 they were placed under US sovereignty by the Guano Islands Act. The islands have been prized by guano hunters and turtle fishermen since then. As of 1971, the islands are part of Honduras, but the US still operates weather and communication stations there." RECENT UPDATES: - There is now a place to stay on Swan Island. One bets it is not cheap :) That website includes some recent pictures. - A website by Donald Keithhas gone online regarding the Swan Islands, from someone who has was there in the 1970's. Donald contacted us and his comments are included below. - Another website now exists, by Stephen Broadbelt, quoting our original page. COMMENTS FROM READERS: Gary Padgett writes: This isn't the first time this century that tiny Swan Island has been struck head-on by a Cat. 5 hurricane. Around noon on 27 Sep 1955 the eye of Hurricane Janet moved directly over the island. For those of you who have access to Dunn and Millers' classic book "Atlantic Hurricane", the first chapter includes an eyewitness account of Janet's passage over the island. The lowest pressure reported in the Best Track file for Janet was 914 mb at 27/0600Z. Except for 938 mb given at 27/1200Z, no more pressure readings were given before the hurricane made land near Chetumal, Mexico around 28/0600Z. Dunn and Miller report that the anemometer at the airport terminal building in Chetumal registered 175 mph before it collapsed. Eyewitnesses reported the wind continued to increase and was estimated to have reached 200 mph. The authors don't report the time averaging period for the reading, but I gather that it is a sustained wind of some sort and not a gust. According to an atlas, Chetumal lies on the west shore of a large bay which is separated from the Caribbean by a peninsula, and looks like it (Chetumal) is at least 30 nm away from the open Caribbean, maybe more. So all this suggests to me that, even though we have no way of proving it, Janet was quite likely a hurricane in the class of Allen, Camille, and now Mitch (maybe not quite a Gilbert). Jenny Glidden writes: I
had a slow day at work yesterday and decided to download some information from
the web on Swan Island. The reason for this search was that my in-laws are
staying with me for a while in Connecticut. They are from the Cayman Islands.
My husbands family lived on Swan Island for many years. My father in-law's
father was Captain Donald Glidden and was the caretaker for Swan for many
years. My father-in-law lived there with his wife and son for some time working
as the cook for Radio Americas. They tell me so many stories about their time
there and my husband can't wait to some day bring me there to go fishing.
George T. Damoff writes: I have been searching the net regarding a hurricane that passed over Swan Island in 1955. At that time I was stationed in the Navy at the Coco Solo Naval Base in the Panama Canal Zone. I was in Patrol Squadron 34 flying as a crewman on PBM Martin Mariner sea planes. Our primary missions were to fly Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Search and Rescue (SAR). Our airplanes were called upon to search for a Lockheed P2V Neptune Hurricane Hunter that was missing after flying into the hurricane. The flight originated from Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and as I recall, with some Canadian newsmen. The first day we were part of a large air and sea search effort. After flying most of the day at low over the water, no trace of the airplane was found. The search area was near Swan Island, but could not recall how close we were as on that day did not know that the next day we would be sent to Swan Island. All communications with the island were lost as it was a Navy base at the time. I may be assuming it was a Navy base as that was the word at the time. As we approached Swan Island we could not contact them by radio until we got close, as the only power and radio they had was an emergency transceiver that was operated by hand cranking a small generator in the unit that was called a Gibson Girl. Because the sea state was too great to land, and there was no way to get near the island with beaching gear, as we did not have wheels, and even if we did have wheels there was not runway on the island at the time. What we did see when we got there was the islands covered with downed coconut trees that were laid out like match sticks and clearly lined-up indicating how the wind blue them down. There were also five (5) hugh radio transmitters, flat on the ground and parallel to each other, and also indicating the direction of how the hurricane winds blew over the island. There were just a few small buildings on one end of the island only and most were all flattened with the exception of a concrete structure that supposedly housed, of all things, a seismograph station where the handful of personnel took refuge. Miraculously, there were no deaths or injuries. If it wasn't for the concrete building, they would have all been blown away never to be found. After making contact with the ground personnel we did parachute medical supplies and food on several low passes, and then returned to Panama. After this mission we never heard any more news about the islands or the personnel stationed there. I have photos of all the preceding I described but never knew the name of the hurricane nor did I recall the date as I had no personal records of the incident. One photo has a date of Nov. 1955. All I recall is that it was in the Fall of 1955 since I was discharged in April 1956. Jenny Glidden writes: Norma Jean Jefferson from the Cayman Islands has a herd of some 300 hundred cows on Swan Is. She goes back and forth quite frequently. At least 17 members of the Caymanian Jefferson family were born on Swan Island. There is a belief in Cayman that Swan was originally settled by Caymanians but the British Government gave the Islands to Honduras under pressure from the US government. For many years Caymanians were caretakers for the Island for a man from Boston. I have heard rumours that two Caymanian politicians; John Jefferson Junior (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and Thomas Jefferson (Member of the Legislative Assembly) were at one time considering a tourism venture there, however they are not getting on very well at the moment and I think the idea is on hold. Windstar Cruiseline took a small cruise ship into Swan this year which I was rather sad to see. I know many people with stories and connections to Swan. Simon @ NEWS27writes: Norma Jean Jefferson from the Cayman Islands has a herd of some 300 hundred cows on Swan Is. She goes back and forth quite frequently. At least 17 members of the Caymanian Jefferson family were born on Swan Island. There is a belief in Cayman that Swan was originally settled by Caymanians but the British Government gave the Islands to Honduras under pressure from the US government. For many years Caymanians were caretakers for the Island for a man from Boston. I have heard rumours that two Caymanian politicians; John Jefferson Junior (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and Thomas Jefferson (Member of the Legislative Assembly) were at one time considering a tourism venture there, however they are not getting on very well at the moment and I think the idea is on hold. Windstar Cruiseline took a small cruise ship into Swan this year which I was rather sad to see. I know many people with stories and connections to Swan. Doran Platt writes: Should you be interested, I resided on Swan for two years in the mid-70's, working at the weather station. The place does have a history.. The original owners, the Smith family of New England, lessors United Fruit and the Department of Ag (1900-1920), later the CAA (FAA) and finally the NWS up to the early 80's. US interests again returned to support "activity" in the CenAmer region of conflict. I still have friends who own property there (cattle, etc.). I wish I had taken more pictures while I was there, but it didn't seem important, at the time. I recently saw some photos taken after one of the hurricanes. The place it a wreck, now, between the weather and the scavenging by who knows who. I also found a website that indicates that an entity is trying to make Swan some sort of a luxury, Las Vegas-like, off-shore resort. I was resident on Swan from 1974-76, with the NWS. The history of the island I've read here is a bit incorrect, in places. The discovery by Cpt. Swan appears OK. The Sumner Smith family have claimed the island since the turn of the century. United Fruit leased property from the family in the early part of the last century (20th). The US Dept. of Ag was to use the station for a bovine quarantine station. The dipping pens were still there in the 70's, as were 2 very large well-built barns. The NWS (nee Weather Bureau) were there from the late 30's until about 1980. The CAA and FAA were there until about 1968 (+/-), when their residual operation was turned over to the NWS (navigation and communications eqpt.) In 1971 (+/-) Nixon, et al, rejected the Smith claim and gave the island "back" (sic) to Honduras. The US (read: NWS) administered the place until we shipped all the good equipment to Beliz and Egypt. The CIA operation and Radio Americas was there in the 60's. Philco Tech Rep was the the contractor, I'm told. The Gibraltar Steamship Company was the "front" for the CIA operation. Two published articles about the electronics side of Swan currently are available. One is (was) by Tom Kneitel ("Electronics Illustrated", July 1968) and one by myself, "Electric Radio", February 2000. The principle historians have, unfortunately passed away in the last few years; Mable Smith (daughter of Capt. Smith, field supv. for all Fed. agencies in the 50's), The Kelly family of Grand Cayman, and more recently Spencer Bennet (originally from Bay Islands, Honduras.). Station log books and scrapbooks (fascinating!) dating from the 30's may be available from the Smith family on Cayman Is. Bill Estes writes: I was an Officer in the U. S Navy in 1972, serving aboard the USS Blakely (DE1072), when we anchored off Swan Island and served as the platform for a cermony for U.S diplomats to "return" Swan Island to the Hondurans. The President of Honduras was present for the event. We were told the the U.S. had appropriated the island to set up a communication station during WWII. Hope this is of some interest. Donald Keith writes: I
have spent some time on the Swan Islands. I was there as a research scientist
and have published some articles on some of the marine biota. I was there in
1973 and again in 74, when the US had a weather station there. Shortly after my
last trip the US gave the islands back to Honduras as a jester of good will. I
have more information on the islands and there is a very good article on them
in a NOAA publication. I could send a copy. I have recently been in contact
with an individual who plans to develop the islands as a resort. I understand
that the weather station compound that was there when I was on the island has
been destroyed (perhaps by the hurricane?). I have hundreds if pictures of the
islands, both Great Swan and Little Swan. We hiked the interior of Little Swan
(very treacherous). I have pictures. Also lots if underwater photos and
pictures of all areas of Great Swan. Booby Cay, and the Weather Compound and
old Radio America Buildings. I have been recently contacted by news person that
plans to do a special on the islands relative to the alleged CIA operation that
went on there. I really have no knowledge of that except what I read in the
NOAA article but I sent him some jpeg photos of the weather station. Because of
the recent interest the Islands seem to be generating, I am considering
developing a web page on the Swan Islands and post some of my
photographs. Matt J. McCullar writes: You may wish to contact Tom Kneitel yourself for more information. It just so happens that over this past week I have been reading several back issues of a magazine he edited, _Popular Communications_. It's a magazine for people who enjoy listening to short-wave radio and scanner radios. He wrote a two-part article about his trip to Swan Island, but unfortunately I do not have those two issues and only read about that article in the letter columns of later issues. I may be wrong about the dates, but I think they appeared in the November and December, 1986 issues. Bill Toth writes:
J3traders.com's story is just a "little" mixed up about the CIA on Swan
Island. The CIA never "owned" it. Radio Free America had headquarters of their
Cuba propaganda stations there for years during the Cuban Crisis. NOT the CIA!
Then the Federal Aviation Administration administered the island, maintaining
the electronic, mechanical equipment, grounds and air strip. There were six
Weather Bureau personnel on six month isolated duty status reporting weather
data necessary for hurricane research and tracking. FAA personnel spent one
month tours of duty as US Representatives and Managers of the island. I
personnaly was there for two tours of duty, my last tour of duty in October,
1972. In November, a Mr. Marshall, from the FAA and an entourage of Weather
Bureau personnel flew in via a DC-3 aircraft to turn the islands over to
Honduras. End of US possession! There are many FAA personnel that spent their
month (or more) on Swan Island. If you are interested, I will be happy to
provide more info and perhaps some real juicy stories, some of which are quite
interesting. Matt J. McCullar writes: I don't know if you're familiar with it, but there was an extremely well-written article about Radio Swan and Swan Island itself written by Tom Kneitel that appeared in a late 1960's issue of _Electronics Illustrated_. He covers some of the known history of the island (he said it was leveled by a hurricane back in the 1950s). Radio towers were built by the United Fruit Company way back in the 1910s as a means of keeping their shipping fleet in touch with each other. The main reason Kneitel wrote the article for _Electronics Illustrated_ was because of the radio station on the island at the time. Speculation had it that it was just a front for anti-Castro propaganda and that it was actually run by the CIA. Kneitel and his editor actually chartered a plane to visit the island, and they actually received permission by the FAA to go there. Though he wrote a fine article, the radio staff didn't tell him that they were going to go off the air as soon as that issue hit the newsstands. Tim Murray writes: I was stationed for a brief 30 period in 1992 at Swan Island while I served my first tour in the US AirForce. (That is, if its the same island, and I believe it is, the shape fits what I remember) Nice little Island. The fishing was incredible, as was the scenery! Ted Danger writes: In April this year we'll shoot film about the Swans. Best Regards, Ted Danger, Society for the Exploration and Preservation of Honduras Don Wilson writes: I spent four weeks on Swan Island in 1993, and it is a great little island. At the time, there was one semi-permanent occupant who was there to look after the cattle. Other occupants included a military detachment of about 12 Honduran soldiers. During this time period, there was also a temporary population of about 35 US Air National Guard personnel rotating to the island on a classified mission. C-131 regularly utilized the airfield to rotate the personnel and provide supply support. There were coconut trees on the north side of the island, and you could find mango and lime trees. The permanent civilian had a small garden, and the soldiers attempted a garden to supplement their supply of beans. The iguanas were also a source of food for them. The major population consisted of Iguanas and hermit crabs. The permanent buildings that were left over from (I assume) the CIA operation were probably pretty well devastated by the hurricane. I understand that this island was once a banana plantation, that was wiped out by an earlier hurricane. There were remnants of an old railroad from a concrete pier on the southwest corner running northwest. There was a marker, near the pier naming a fruit company, but I can not recollect the name. Though the island was supposed to be a nesting site for swans, primarily a small island near the southwest corner, It was evidently not the season for it, because the were not nesting. There was no freshwater supply on the island. The cattle depended on accumulated rainwater. There were also several abandoned cisterns at various locations, plus remnants of a major water purification plant, and a building housing several very large generators, that were not operational, though they appeared to be in decent shape, and possibly could have been brought into operation. The National Guard personnel were required to operate a water purification and sewage disposal system. My four weeks there were thoroughly enjoyable, and I would love the opportunity to return someday, but it is probably a pretty desolate place after the most recent hurricane. Kevin Li writes: I spent several months on Swan Island in 1979, working as a field assistant for University of Washington zoology grad student, Peter Spendelow. I had a wonderful time there, staying with the National Weather Service and working with lizards on the North side of the island. I was there from about August until early December. The Honduran military would show up every now and then, fly the flag, and fly off. I was told that the US used to lay claim to the islands, but that President Nixon gave up the dispute with Honduras on the condition that the US be allowed to run the weather station. I thought the weather service abandoned the place in the early 1980s. We stayed in one of the aluminum huts on the Weather Service grounds. Only about 2 dozen people were on the island, and most were support staff for the weather station. A few people were permanent residents, I believe they may have been Jamaican. One guy told me the place would be perfect if it only had women; the only woman on the island was his mother! The fellow was about 20 years old. Some others were from Costa Rica. On Thanksgiving we had the whole island together for a giant turkey dinner, it was quite a holiday. About 200 cows roamed much of the island. The station had a small library, so I got to read up a bit on the place. Only one species of snake was reported, a small sightless species. Fresh water can be quite scarce during the dry season, so the chances of much development are slim. Brown boobys nested on the shore, and frigate birds and anis and cattle egrets were also present. The North beach had a small coconut grove and a lovely sandy beach. I went snorkeling almost daily. The east and south sides were quite rugged and the going was extremely slow. The airfield was basically a cow pasture. Nicaraguan Miskitos would come by in a boat to hunt iguanas, but they never stayed much more than a day. The dock was rustic and only used on a few occasions when I was there. I was supposed to be flown out in November but the airfield was so muddy that the pilot was afraid to land. He left us out there for another month before he returned from the Caymans. Peter Spendelow did get his PhD in zoology, but I've lost track of him; his dissertation didn't really have much detail on the island, the focus was on the niche-variation hypothesis in ecological theory. Peter went to the island two or three times in the course of his field work, working under Dr. Sievert Rhower. I have some old pictures in my albums, perhaps I can have them scanned. It was certainly one of the most memorable situations I've ever had! Silvano Rossi writes: I have an attachment for your file: an old photo of Isla Pequena from airplane! I am intersted in Swan Island because we are planning for a sail boat trip including a stop at Swan Islands, Isla Grande. I would be very grateful if you can help me to find some images of Isla Grande and a more detailed nautical map. EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS ATTACHMENT WAS LOST. Robert Nolan writes: I am writing a bit here as I had lived on Swan Island. My name is Robert Nolan. I am a natural born American with both natural born American parents. When I was 11 years old my family (Father, mother older brother and myself) moved to the Moskito Coast in the jungles of Nicaragua. We had an incredible time there for many years until the Communists overthrew the country. My family was thrown into prison under the pretense that we were American spies. We escaped from jail 2-3 hours prior to our execution with the aid of the Moskito Indians. We ran for about 1 week until we got to Honduras. After a short while, myself, my father and mother were placed on Swan Islands for about 6 months as we were debriefed. I know Swan Island like the back of my hand. Other than my Father and Mother, there was one "local" that tended about 30 cows. There was also a USA "weather station" with 3 Americans. My daily activities would consist of the following things; Keeping the grass airstrip cleared by machete and shoveling off the majority of the cow dung when it got too extensive, raising and lowering the American flag everyday close to the dilapidated concrete dock, (I lowered the last American flag as the Honduran Army raised theirs), diving lobsters, fishing, diving conch and fish, hunting the iguanas, burning the trash pile once a week, unloading the American planes and then reloading the unmarked planes that came in afterwards and such things as that. There is a coconut grove on the North East side of the island. While diving a certain section of the island one day, I came across very old anchor chain which led to a very old fluke anchor (about 3 tons of weight) and the surrounding area had many cannons. I also found what appeared to be a cannon base or something as it looked like it had railroad style metal wheels. Anyhow, there was one American that flew in and had the idea to make the place a resort. He now lives in Florida and I will not post his name for privacy sake. Russ Summerell writes: Swan island was used by the CIA during the Contra war to resupply the contras via airplane. During that time, it was off limits to fishing and tourism. John Grace writes: I read an account of some english naturalists in an old tattered book around 1919 visiting the island it made mention of a coconut plantation some farm animals and a family there and it being a pirate haunt. id love to here more . this is the first mention of it ive found otherwise whoes investing? I wanna go see the place. Dosidicus writes: Mitch wasn't the first category five hurricane to hit Swan Island. Interestingly, another category five hurricane, Janet, tracked directly over Swan Island on September 27, 1955. A small U.S. military outpost was there at the time, and a vivid eyewitness account of their experience is given in Dunn and Miller's Atlantic Hurricanes (1964). Michael D. Stanley writes: I dont have the information in front of me but the island was 'found' by an american ship capt. named swan. the radio station mentioned on your page was owned by then Philco Radio. I know this from the fact that my father worked at the station for about 5 years. in the 60's they operated a spanish language AM radio station that could be heard at night in Fl. the station was simmilar to what radio marte (sp?) is today. there is a book out called "None dare call it treason" which mentions that the station was transmitting coded messages to the cubans that were 'supposed' to support the bay of pigs invasion. During the missle crisas and the bay of pigs it was not uncommon for a us navy destroyer anchored off the island. last I heard there was still a native population on the island. if you want more details mail me back and i will try to dig up what i can. Mr. Michael D. Stanley, Fiscal Assistant IFAS Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences B&D Dolan writes: I was searching for information on Swan Island because it is a part of my family history. My great-great aunt was married to the " King of Swan Islands" at the turn of the centuty. The gentleman's name was Alonzo Adams. mr. Adams was an active ships captain who travelled extensively. On Feb. 6, 1904, he claimed the Swan Islands as abandoned property. He established a radio station and lighthouse there. He sold the islands to a group of Boston businessmen.My grandmother had a letter from them in the Swan Islands written on stationary from the Swan Islands Trading Company. The letter was postmarked in New Orleans.A good description of Swan Islands and Captain Adams and his family appears in a 1911 book titled" A Naturalist on Desert Islands", by Percy R. Lowe. Mr Adams was originally from Deer Island ,New Brunswick, Canada. He brought a parrot home from the islands once to his sister-in-law and her husband- but unfortunately in put out an eye of their son. Mr. Adams died in 1913 in Boston. My father is the family historian, and I have always known that if only Mr. Adams hadn't sold the islands, maybe we could have been heirs to a Carribean island. I too have foung no information on the islands on the Web. This site is the only thing I have found. Stanley Marrder writes: Bob is worried because he cannot get word from friends on Swan Island, but thinks they may still all be in their shelters ...he had spoken last with them about an hour before the EYE passed over Swan Island. Anonymous writes: There was a report on one of the news services that Mitch had passed directly over Swan Island. The five servicemen there were reportedly unharmed after taking refuge in caves. Chris Kulig writes: The Swan Islands consist of two islands (Isla Grande and Isla Pequena), the former being inhabited by a few military and one "permanent" farmer, tending to the livestock on the island. Fishermen also frequent the island. The topography is relatively flat. At one time, a US weather service occupied the island. There is still equipment leftover from that era. There is a runway, but is now overgrown with grass and a pasture for the cows. Other than than a few people and livestock, the island is inhabited by birds relatively large lizards. Isla Pequena is about half the size of Isla Grande and is higher in elevation. Access onto this island is extremely difficult as there is no beach. The perimeter of the island is surrounded by sheer cliffs and there is really no area where the sea is calm. In addition, the coral reefs that surround these islands are razor sharp. There are no coconut trees on the small island, and it is extremely thick in terms of brush. This island is virtually uninhabitable. Eveline Bill writes: As of 1940, the Swan Islands were a "British Colony/Honduran" property, but apparently the Brits let them go, and now they are the location of a small Honduran military base, and presumably house a few Honduran soldiers at their barracks....but knowing the Caribbean, there are probably a number of unofficial residents, fishermen, etc...Strangely, in this day and age, there is almost no information available about the place - if you know more, anyone, dear reader, please post it, especially if you live there or have visited the place...It must be wonderful, except for the Hurricanes... |
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