The Loomis legacy
There was a time when boaters crossing Calibogue Sound might catch sight of something completely unexpected along the shoreline of Bull Island, a zebra standing beneath a palmetto tree.
At first glance, it sounds like one of those Lowcountry stories that has grown taller with each retelling. Yet for many longtime residents, the sight was very real. For decades, Bull Island was home to an unusual collection of animals that seemed more at home on the African plains than along the marshes of Beaufort County. Zebras wandered the island, buffalo grazed in open fields, and Sicilian donkeys roamed beneath live oaks draped in Spanish moss.
To understand how such an unusual chapter became part of Lowcountry history, we must first meet one of the most fascinating men ever connected to Hilton Head Island.
Most people have never heard of Alfred Lee Loomis, yet his influence stretched far beyond the South Carolina coast. Born in 1887, Loomis became one of the most successful financiers on Wall Street before turning his attention to science. While many wealthy men spent their fortunes on yachts and lavish estates, Loomis used his wealth to build laboratories and support scientific research. In the years leading up to World War II, he became one of the key figures behind the advancement of radar technology, helping organize, fund, and accelerate research that would give Allied forces one of their greatest advantages during the war.
While Alfred Lee Loomis was helping develop technology that allowed Allied forces to detect enemy aircraft and ships long before they could be seen, he was also building a connection to the South Carolina Lowcountry.
In 1931, Loomis and his brother in law, Landon K. Thorne, purchased approximately 17,000 acres of Hilton Head Island, including Honey Horn Plantation. At the time, Hilton Head remained largely undeveloped and accessible only by boat. Their holdings stretched across much of the island and served as a private retreat where guests enjoyed hunting, fishing, horseback riding, and the quiet beauty of the Lowcountry landscape.
Today, visitors to Honey Horn walk beneath the same oaks and along many of the same paths once enjoyed by Loomis and his guests. Few realize that one of the twentieth century’s most influential scientists and businessmen once called the property home.
When the Hilton Head holdings were sold in 1950, it might have appeared that the Loomis family’s Lowcountry story had come to an end. Instead, it was simply moving across the water.
In 1962, Alfred Lee Loomis Jr. purchased Bull Island and transformed the secluded property into a private family retreat. Accessible only by boat and surrounded by the waters of Calibogue Sound, the island offered privacy, excellent hunting, and a setting unlike anywhere else in the region.
Over time, however, Bull Island became known for something far more unusual than hunting.
Stories began spreading throughout Hilton Head, Bluffton, Daufuskie, and the surrounding communities about exotic animals living on the island. Boaters crossing the sound often slowed their vessels as they approached Bull Island, scanning the shoreline in hopes of spotting one of its famous residents. Many were rewarded.
The zebras became the island’s most talked about attraction. The sight of black and white stripes moving through a landscape of palmettos, marsh grass, and moss draped oaks seemed almost impossible to believe. Yet year after year, stories continued to circulate among fishermen, hunters, boaters, and visitors who had seen them with their own eyes.
The buffalo were equally unforgettable. Massive and unmistakable, they stood in sharp contrast to the coastal scenery around them. Sicilian donkeys added another layer to the island’s growing reputation as one of the most unusual places in the Lowcountry. Together, the animals transformed Bull Island into something that felt part wildlife preserve, part sporting retreat, and part local folklore.
How the animals arrived has become the subject of local legend. One story, repeated by longtime residents over the years, claims that wealthy visitors occasionally left unusual gifts after hunting excursions on the island. According to the tale, members of the Busch family, known for Busch Gardens and their private animal collections, were among those who sent exotic animals following successful hunting trips. Whether every detail of the story can be verified today remains uncertain. Like many Lowcountry tales, the story has been passed from one generation to the next and has become part of Bull Island’s colorful history.
What is certain is that the animals were there. Longtime residents still recall seeing them, and for years Bull Island became a place where the unexpected seemed perfectly normal. It was a private island where zebras grazed beneath palmettos, buffalo overlooked salt marshes, and Sicilian donkeys wandered beneath towering live oaks.
The story of Alfred Lee Loomis is remarkable on its own. He was a Wall Street millionaire, a pioneering scientist, and a man whose work helped shape the outcome of World War II. Yet here in the Lowcountry, his legacy extends beyond laboratories and radar. Through his family’s ownership of Bull Island, it became connected to one of the most unusual and memorable chapters in local history.
Today, the animals are gone, and much of Bull Island’s extraordinary past has faded from view. Yet the stories remain. They remind
Paul Tollefson is the Director of Tennis at the Hampton Hall Club. After moving from Hilton Head to Bluffton he became enthralled with the history of the town and the people and cultures that call it home. He has found a passion in writing and enjoys being able to share the stories and pictures of long-time locals. He is the co-creator of the Facebook page “Bluffton Then and Now.”
