This Beaufort County island was home to nation's first nudist colony
Cat Island was briefly home to a nudist colony, founded in 1932 by Gilbert and Gertrude Parks, who hoped to mimic the popular nude retreats in Europe.
It's thought to be the first nudist camp in America, according to historians and various sources, including Nude and Natural, the magazine of the Naturist Society.
A 1935 advertisement for the sanctuary boasted of "Lazy hours under a balmy sky. Jungle trails, festooned lagoons, palm-fringed vistas where wild game and wild fowl in their habitat greet you unafraid."
Many in the group, known as the Sea Island Sanctuary, hailed from New York. They traveled to the Lowcountry, looking for a little piece of natural paradise and found it on the 440-acre island near Beaufort.
Dozens of back-to-the-land colonists plowed the soil in the buff to reap fruits and vegetables. They did wear clothes when they ate in the main dining hall before returning to their birthday suits immediately afterwards, according to media accounts.
Located just across the river from Parris Island, the naturists said they could almost see into the buildings of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island where Marines were trained. (It's unknown if the recruits had an equally clear view.)
A little blue house, believed to be one of the colony's cottages, stood until just a decade ago.
Cat Island residents Rachel and Earl Martin's house now stands where the cottage once did, overlooking the marsh. The Martins have many artifacts and old newspaper clippings that show the rumors about the Beaufort County nudists are more than just that.
But the naturists weren't celebrated during their time on Cat Island.
Many in the county and around the state, including then Gov. I.C. Blackwood, wanted the colonists run out of town, fearing that they might expand their camp and come strutting down Bay Street wild and free.
By 1936, the nudist colony closed because of financial strains.
But late Beaufort County Sheriff J.E. McTeer joked in his memoir, "High Sheriff of the Low Country" that mosquitoes and other bugs were really to blame.
"Ferocious Beaufort County mosquitoes, red bugs and sand gnats took their toll on the nudists' tender and exposed skins, and accomplished what the strong arm of the law had failed to do," he wrote.
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This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 10:20 PM with the headline "This Beaufort County island was home to nation's first nudist colony."