Is rehoboth beach a gay beach

When thousands of guys, and plenty of women, congregate on Poodle Beach this Memorial Day weekend in Rehoboth, they may want to know the story behind that patch of sand. The site is at the far south end of the boardwalk, starting, appropriately enough, around Queen Street. Historians point to Carpenter Beach, across a small dune and up towards Dewey Beach, as the beach gay beach in the Rehoboth area.

That sandy stretch sat in front of the former home of Louisa du Pont Carpenter, an aviatrix and a very independent gal. Although Carpenter was married to a local businessman, she was rumored to enjoy the rehoboth lifestyle. They played chess, backgammon and volleyball, a comfortable distance away from the vacationing straight couples and families on Rehoboth Beach.

According to reports from those who were there, it was a very sophisticated gay scene and the tradition went on for years. As there were no gay bars in Rehoboth in those days and even if there were, it was against the law to walk with a drink in your hand, so nobody could socializegay visitors spent time on Carpenter Beach followed by private house parties.

A contingent of gay men and women weekended in Rehoboth as well. During the work week, this crowd would make plans for parties and lodging, gathering in relative safety for weekends in Rehoboth. So that is the beach behind Carpenter Beach. Local old-timers tell the story of two gay cousins back in who got fed up dragging their beach chairs and coolers the extra way past the end of the Rehoboth boardwalk to sit on Carpenter Beach.

One day, they simply spread their blankets on the sand just past the boardwalk gay invited their friends to join them. Soon, this growing collection of gays took a stand on the sand, holding their ground as the Rehoboth family crowd moved slightly north to accommodate them. Soon, most of the people who had been walking to Carpenter Beach stopped short to sun themselves on this new, more convenient stretch of sand.

From Shadows to Celebration: The Queer History of Rehoboth Beach

For a few years after that, a group of old-timers still frequented Carpenter Beach, with their chess and backgammon games still going strong. But eventually the shift to Queen Street became permanent, and Poodle Beach was born. And while the LGBT crowd is joyously, openly out and about these days at the beach, history acknowledges that the community got its start along the shore thanks to Louisa du Pont Carpenter and her gay pals on the beach between her home and the Atlantic Ocean.

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