Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot, South Carolina, trains most United States Marine Corps recruits east of the Mississippi River. It also trains all women Marine recruits. The island, near Beaufort, covers about 8,000 acres (3,200 hectares). Horse Island Bridge and causeways connect the island to the mainland. Alexander Parris, public treasurer of South Carolina in the 1700's, once owned the island. The Marines established their first post there in 1891.