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Learn about the Amerindians who lived at Magens Bay over 500 years ago.
Find out who is the Magens behind the name "Magens Bay".
View the unique deed of Magens Bay, which was donated in 1946 by Arthur S. Fairchild to "the people of the Virgin Islands".
Read the 2024 "A Brief History of Magens Bay" series for comprehensive coverage of the modern history of Magens Bay.
Browse our Magens Bay Authority news archive.
Spotlight on Amerindians at Magens:
Spotlight on Amerindians at Magens:
Did you know... Pre-Columbian artifacts have been found at Magens Bay indicating a Taino settlement around 1200-1500 AD, as well as earlier preceramic settlements possibly dating back to 1050 BC.
The unique ceremonial "swallow stick" pictured was discovered at Magens by Captain Theodore De Booy in 1917. Carved from the rib of a manatee and decorated with shells, it is believed to have been made by the Taino sometime between 1200 and the mid-1400s. It was used as part of a ritual in which a shaman would purge (vomit) before ingesting hallucinogenic cohoba to communicate with Taino deities and ancestors.
Learn more about the Taino at Magens.
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