Moonstone Beach was a popular nude shoreline along South Kingston, Rhode Island. Its name was earned from the abundant lunar-looking silicate stones that had been polished by the waves. As development along the western side of Point Judith Pond flourished in the 1970s, the textile use of this once-secluded Atlantic coast increased. The nudists were eventually relegated to a limited section fronting Trustom Pond on land owned by the local Audubon Society chapter which administered it as a wildlife sanctuary.

Nude use of the barrier stand continued until — around 1980 — the Audubon Society could no longer afford to support the property. Word of this spread to the beachgoers; many of the nudists joined the local chapter as their way to spur financial solvency and thus continue the symbiotic relationship between the naturalists and the naturists. Unfortunately, the influx of new members was interpreted as a hostile takeover attempt on the nudists’ part. The state board for the Audubon Society used their authority to transfer the property to the US Fish and Wildlife Service in order to avoid the perceived seizure.

Signs banning nudity almost immediately appeared on Moonstone Beach. The nudists responded by organizing the New England Naturist Association to challenge the veracity of the ban. They successfully argued that no law preventing nude use of federally controlled lands existed and the USF&WS removed the postings.

It was then determined that a closure of some of the beach was necessary to protect recently listed endangered species of wildlife. This time the NENA worked in conjunction with USF&WS officials to assure a co-existence on the beach by both nature and naturists. Both organizations worked to educate beach users about fragile eco-system issues and on beach projects including the purchase and installation of dune grass to help prevent erosion and fencing to protect nesting areas. This continued through 1987.

That was the year the USF&WS ordered all of the nude section closed for the sake of the endangered wildlife. The strand at the end of Moonstone Beach Road, leased by South Kingstown as a town beach, was also abbreviated. The nudists negotiated a move from the front of Trustom Pond to that of Card Pond on the east side of the town beach. This lasted one season.

In 1988, wildlife officials from Washington, DC, determined further wildlife closure was necessary. Faced with no place to go, NENA started looking for land to use as a nude beach. They managed to lease a section of private beachfront — just east of the Card Pond preserve boundary —starting in 1990. This association lasted for two years. The nudist association then was able to purchase ocean frontage on the other side of Trustom Pond near Charlestown. Unfortunately, this neighbourhood was less-friendly to the nudists as local property owners did not want the outside foot traffic on their roadways and an ugly campaign was started to get them removed. Threats of arrest and vandalism of the group’s property were intolerable.

A cat-and-mouse game ensued for the next several years. The USF&WS were frustrated with nude hikers along the ponds’ bird fences; they had Rhode Island’s statute regarding genital exposure broadened. A screen around the NENA property assured that passers-by did not view the nudists, thus preventing police from citing anyone lying or sitting to sunbathe nude; but people had to dress with a G-string or other covering to access the water sans arrest. Land owners bent on removing NENA and the nudists started alleging sexual misconduct complaints; plain-clothes police, armed with video cameras, came to verify but never observed any such behaviour (who looked out of place on a private nude beach: legitimate family nudists or dressed uncover officers with cameras?).

It became obvious that the constant problems and complaints were not going to abate. Then late-1994, the state ruled that NENA needed portable toilets on the beach. This presented the nudist group with a catch-22: Suggesting they walk to the Charlestown Beach facility wasn’t enough; and the Coastal Zone Management Commission as well as the Town of South Kingston would not allow any structures on a barrier beach.

With options and finances depleted, NENA was forced to close its beach. The land was sold and the money was used to settle remaining debts. Memberships were transferred in 1996 to the Pilgrim Naturists of New England in Boston and the New England Naturist Association voluntarily ceased to exist. The beach, located about two miles south of Commodore Perry Highway along Moonstone Beach Road, has suffered from recent erosion with many of the nearby oceanfront homes needing sandbag protection. The nudists — for the most part — are gone and the shore belongs to plovers.