Susan M. Grady, widow of Dr. Adelphia Dane Bowen Jr., originally from Strawn, Texas, and her husband spent three months a year in Las Terrenas from 1977 to 1998, the year he sold his house. Dr. Bowen passed away at his home in Alexandria, Virginia, in July 2011 at the age of 84.
Only a few decades ago, Las Terrenas, on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, was a remote corner known only for its green mountains, crystal-clear sea, and the warmth of its people. What is now a vibrant tourism and luxury residential destination began as a small fishing and farming village where life followed the rhythm of the sun and the sea.
The Early Years of Las Terrenas
In 1975, Las Terrenas was a quiet community of farmers and fishermen. Everyone spoke Spanish, and life moved at a slow, peaceful pace. There were no shops, no gas station, no electricity, no telephones. There were no cars, no motorcycles, no post office, no newspapers and no tourists. It was a beautiful, simple and silent place, surrounded by untouched nature.
The road connecting Sánchez with Las Terrenas was first built in 1969, but over time it fell into disrepair and by 1975 it was almost impassable. It was later repaved in 1989 and again in 2010, marking key milestones in the modern transformation of the region.
At that time, there was no road to Playa Bonita or Playa Cosón. To reach those beaches, you had to follow a dirt path that crossed the private coconut plantation of Mr. Máximo Galván, owner of the largest store in Sánchez, known as Casa Galván.
This account was written on November 16, 2012, by Susan M. Grady, and is published with her permission. She and her husband, Adelphia Dane Bowen, Jr., were the first foreigners to build a private home in Las Terrenas, marking the beginning of an international community that would, over the years, bring new life and vision to this coastal paradise.
Las Terrenas Today – Preserving Its Spirit
Today, Las Terrenas blends the authenticity of its past with the comfort and sophistication of the present. Its growth has been relatively harmonious, preserving the natural beauty that has always defined it.
Key Dates in Dominican History
To understand the history of Las Terrenas and Samaná, it helps to see the broader context of the Dominican Republic:
- December 5, 1492 – Christopher Columbus landed on Hispaniola (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and claimed the island for Spain.
- 1795 – The Dominican territory was ceded to France under the Treaty of Basel.
- 1809 – Spain, with help from the British navy, defeated France at the Battle of Palo Hincado and regained control.
- 1821 – Dominicans expelled the Spanish and declared independence.
- 1822–1844 – Haiti conquered and occupied the Dominican Republic in a bloody occupation.
- 1844 – Dominicans expelled the Haitians and regained independence.
- 1861 – Dominicans voluntarily returned to Spanish rule.
- 1865 – Dominicans defeated Spain and the Dominican Republic became independent again.
The Samaná Peninsula – A Unique Cultural History
In the northeast of the Dominican Republic lies Samaná, a green, mountainous peninsula that has witnessed a forgotten chapter in New World history.
In the 1820s, thousands of formerly enslaved African Americans settled in Samaná, preserving many North American customs in the relative isolation of their new Caribbean home.
These “Americanos” (as their descendants are still known) lived largely outside the influence of modern Dominican society until the mountain road was constructed in 1969, connecting Sánchez and Las Terrenas. This allowed Samaná to remain a cultural anomaly: a Protestant, English-speaking enclave within a predominantly Catholic, Spanish-speaking country.
Today, modern Samaná is more than an anthropological curiosity. It is evolving into a 21st-century tourism hub, especially popular among European visitors. The town, peninsula, and bay all share the name Samaná, and together they offer all the elements of a classic Caribbean destination: a small quiet town, steep mountains, a long coastline and numerous beaches.
Some of the best beaches in the region are found in and around Las Terrenas, while the mountains that form the backbone of the peninsula reach elevations of up to 6,000 feet.
Development Plans and Modern Samaná
The unique mix of development and isolation in Samaná has deep roots in Dominican politics. The government recognized the tourism potential of Samaná in the early 1970s and launched a plan to develop the region as a major tourist center.
The old wooden town was largely demolished (except for the Methodist church of the Americanos, moved board by board from England), and a new concrete town was built. Two state-owned hotels were constructed along with plans for a park, airport, new pier and several roundabouts.
Over time, the hotels were sold to private owners and the airport was upgraded to international status.
Cultural Festivals in Samaná
The best moments to appreciate Samaná’s cultural history are two religious festivals:
- The week before Easter (Semana Santa)
- The celebration of Santa Bárbara, the patron saint of the region, at the end of November
- During these times, thousands of rural residents from the surrounding areas flood into town, creating a carnival-like atmosphere. There are processions, dancing, games and contests—some in English, some in Spanish, and some in Haitian Creole, a mix of African and French words. People dance to merengue, the national music of the Dominican Republic.
Early Cultural Contacts and Conflicts
The cultural history of Samaná began as early as 1493.
The first hostile encounter between Europe and the Western Hemisphere occurred on January 12, 1493, when a Taíno army fired bone-tipped arrows at Columbus’s ship. The site, named Gulf of Arrows (Bahía de las Flechas) by Columbus, lies about three miles east of Samaná town.
Later, pirates lived in the region until the town of Santa Bárbara de Samaná was founded in 1756 by settlers from the Canary Islands, sent by the Spanish Crown to prevent the British from claiming the area.
After Haiti declared independence from France in 1804, many French plantation owners and their enslaved populations fled to Samaná and to eastern Cuba. Napoleon Bonaparte even considered building the capital of his New World empire in Samaná, drafting plans for a city called Ciudad Napoleón, but British intervention and European wars forced him to abandon the idea.
The Americanos & the Arrival of Freed Slaves
In 1822, Haiti invaded and occupied the Dominican Republic for 22 years. Around this time, Haitian leader Jean Pierre Boyer contacted abolitionist groups in Philadelphia and paid them to send as many freed slaves as possible to Samaná. He also financed their resettlement.
Boyer claimed he wanted to help newly freed people gain their liberty, while Dominicans argued that he intended to repopulate the area with people loyal to him.
Nearly 6,000 freed slaves traveled from the United States to the Dominican Republic. Many died or returned to the U.S. due to the climate and cultural changes. Around 2,000 remained in Samaná, where they prospered and preserved their cultural traditions.
They ran their own schools, paying for English teachers, and maintained Protestant churches, mainly Methodist. Today, many inhabitants of Samaná are bilingual. The English spoken there is a colloquial form, similar to the English of the American South a century ago.
These Americanos and their descendants still farm in small mountain communities around the peninsula, cultivating coconuts, coffee, cocoa, mangoes and citrus for sale.
The Cocolos of Las Terrenas
In 1824, a ship called the Turtle Dove, carrying freed slaves from the United States, left Philadelphia bound for Liberia in West Africa. The ship was financed by two Protestant Quaker sisters named Freeman.
A severe storm struck off the coast of Las Terrenas, and the ship sank. The freed slaves swam to shore. They spoke English, and their great-grandchildren still live in Las Terrenas today. They are known as the Cocolos.
On Sundays, you can attend a service at an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in the nearby town of El Limón, where American spiritual hymns are still sung in English.
Samaná, the United States and the BayIn the 19th century, Samaná Bay was considered strategically ideal: wide, sheltered at the seaward end, long and deep. A U.S. envoy was sent to Santo Domingo by President Ulysses S. Grant. Two treaties were signed: one proposed the annexation of the Dominican Republic by the United States, and the other proposed leasing Samaná Bay for 99 years.
The U.S. Senate, which must approve treaties with foreign countries, refused to ratify them. As a result, the Dominican Republic never became part of the United States.
Samaná’s Natural Beauty and Playa Rincón
In November 1996, Condé Nast Traveler ranked Playa Rincón, northeast of Samaná town, as the second most beautiful beach in the world. The road to Playa Rincón is still rough; a 4×4 vehicle or jeep is needed to reach it, which has helped preserve its unspoiled character.
Family Landowners and Early Development in Las Terrenas
Between World War I and World War II, a Polish-Jewish family named Paiewonski bought extensive land in and west of Las Terrenas, near El Portillo and a small airstrip. They built general stores throughout the Dominican Republic and became wealthy, planting and exporting coconuts, cocoa, coffee, fruits and vegetables.
In 1955, Mr. Gigillo Espinal arrived from Sánchez to work for the Paiewonski family. By 1975, he owned a small grocery (colmado) along the seaside road west of Las Terrenas. In 1977, he moved his store to the center of Las Terrenas, on the beach next to the police station. At that time, you could only buy rice, black beans, dried cod and rum. The store stood where the restaurant of Hotel Diny’s is located today.
The first mechanic in Las Terrenas was Mr. Ezequiel (“Sequiel”) Lara, from Samaná. Brought by the Paiewonski family in 1971, he opened his own auto repair shop in 1981.
Timeline of Services and Infrastructure in Las Terrenas
In 1975, Las Terrenas had:
- No shops
- No gas station
- No ice
- No electricity
- No telephones
- No cars or motorcycles
- No post office
- No newspapers
- No tourists
- It was quiet, beautiful and isolated.
Key milestones in the development of Las Terrenas:
- 1969 – Mountain road from Sánchez to Las Terrenas built
- 1973 – First clinic opened
- 1974–1977 – Dr. Adelphia Dane Bowen Jr., U.S. Embassy economic counselor, built the first private foreign-owned home (behind Hotel Casa Niña, now Hotel Club Las Terrenas / Tropic Banana)
- 1977 – Dominican primary school, Catholic church, Gigillo’s bar and shop, and a restaurant owned by U.S. congressman Donald Jackson were operating on the beach
- 1981 – Hotel Atlantis built at Playa Bonita (German-owned)
- 1982 – Hotel El Portillo built; Restaurant Diny opened by Mr. Gigillo
- 1983 – First Dominican newspapers delivered; restaurant Chez Paco opened
- 1984 – Las Terrenas incorporated as a municipality; a film about Columbus shot by American-Italian producers
- 1986 – French school opened
- 1987–1988 – National Police and maritime police established
- 1988 – First hardware store, Ferretería Polanco, opened
- 1989 – Mountain road to Sánchez repaved
- 1991 – Pharmacy, Hotel Cacao Beach and telephone office opened
- 1992 – First gas station opened
- 1994 – Electricity supplied by a private company
- 1997 – Public water system installed
Life Before Electricity in Las Terrenas
Electricity did not arrive in Las Terrenas until 1994. Before then, daily life required creativity and resilience.
Light
- Kerosene lamps – the first source of light, smelly but functional.
- Coleman propane lanterns – metal and glass camping lanterns with mantles, noisy and hot but brighter.
- Solar-powered lights and ceiling fans – powered by rooftop solar panels, arranged with help from Robert D. Green of Somers Point, New Jersey (Susan Grady’s younger brother and engineer).
- Visitors brought their own flashlights and batteries, as none were available locally.
Cooking & Refrigeration
- Refrigerator – a full-size fridge with freezer running on propane gas.
- Stove – a three-burner Coleman camping stove, also using propane.
- A tall propane tank, about six feet high, powered both refrigerator and stove for about a month. Extra tanks were kept on hand and shipped by truck to Nagua, 50 miles away, to be refilled.
- Oven – a folding metal Coleman camping oven placed on two burners, big enough for a pan of cornbread or a medium-sized chicken.
Water & Showers
- Drinking water – collected from rain running off the roof into metal tanks. A mesh screen filtered leaves and debris. New mesh was installed each visit. The water was clean enough that it never needed boiling, as Las Terrenas was a rural, non-industrial area.
- Water for washing and bathroom – drawn from a well using a gasoline generator that pumped water to a large cement tank elevated about six meters. Water then flowed by gravity to kitchen and bathroom. Later, the pump was replaced by a solar-powered pump.
- Hot water – the rainwater barrels were painted black so the sun could heat the water. Pipes were installed to allow hot outdoor showers. There was no hot water inside the house.
Health & Hygiene
- From the United States, they brought Combat cockroach poison and D-Con rat poison, placing them in the house and attic to keep out insects and coconut rats.
- Every morning, the housekeeper swept the tile floors, then mopped with water mixed with a cup of kerosene to repel insects.
- The windows had shutters covered with metal screens on the outside but no glass, so small lizards often entered the house. They were harmless and, in Susan’s words, enjoyable to watch.
Despite these basic conditions, life in Las Terrenas was described as idyllic. They did not miss newspapers; if they wanted news, they listened at night to BBC London and Voice of America on Susan’s shortwave radio.