OUR ORIGINS

The Grand Strand area is made up of two counties. Georgetown County has a rich agricultural history while Horry County grew form more modest beginnings.

It almost seems too good to be true – beautiful beaches, a thriving economy and an eclectic cultural community. Some may call it paradise. We call it the grand Strand. Hotels, fine dining, live entertainment, great golf and the ocean lure tourists. Clean safe medical, recreational, education and retail facilities attract new residents. This is the place where one can achieve the American Dream while living in an ocean paradise.

The Grand Strand area is mad up of two counties. Georgetown County has a rich agricultural history while Horry County grew from more modest beginnings.

Our Grand History

Horry County hasn’t always been the vacation destination that it is today. Bounded by rivers on one side and the ocean on the other, Horry County was cut off from the plantation culture of thriving Georgetown County. The people of Horry County were hard-working farmers, timber men and turpentine distillers. Through their labors and reliance on the available natural resources, they developed the county into “The Independent Republic of Horry.” The Horry County seat of Conway began as Kingston in 1722. The railroad connected it to the Waccamaw River in 1887. Much of downtown Conway built in the early 1900’s paralleling the connection of the Waccamaw River in Conway to the coast.

The Burroughs and Collins Company constructed a railroad in 1900 that connected the Waccamaw River at Conway to the ocean. The construction of the Seaside Inn in 1901 – the first area hotel on the coast – helped finally to lure visitors to the beaches.

The new beach town was named Myrtle Beach after the many wax myrtle trees growing wild along the shore. At the turn of the 20th century, oceanfront lots cost $25. Less affluent individuals could purchase a lot one row back and pay in yearly installments of $2.50.

Myrtle Beach was incorporated in 1938, and 19 years later became a city. After a direct hit from Hurricane Hazel in 1954, the city was rebuilt during the 1960’s and quickly became the popular resort community we know today.

The history of Georgetown County is markedly different from Horry’s, laced with colorful anecdotes and memories of plantation days gone by. Georgetown County was founded in 1670. In 1729, Elisha Screven drew up the plans for the city of Georgetown – the state’s third-oldest city – and began to sell divided lots. The area that comprised the original town square is now the city’s historic district.

Indigo and tea plantations spread throughout Georgetown, but rice soon became the main crop. The wealth produced by this commodity is evident in the grand plantation homes built 200 years ago.

Today, Georgetown is a modern city retaining the quiet charm of the past in the revitalized historic downtown district and restored residences, some now bed and breakfast inns and preserved rice plantations.

Nearby is the picturesque fishing village Murrells Inlet, known as “The Seafood Capitol of South Carolina.” A Capt. Murrells reportedly founded it in the early 18th century. The captain probably encountered pirates, as it was believed to have been a favorite hideout for buccaneers. Civil War blockade-runners also used Murrells Inlet, as did rum smugglers during Prohibition.

Once known as Magnolia Beach, Litchfield received its name from the Litchfield Plantation on the banks of the Waccamaw River, once of the few plantation homes that still stands. Now, Litchfield Beach is a popular resort town.

Before the Civil War, plantation owners turned Pawleys Island into one of the first summer resorts on the Atlantic Coast. Planters and their families spent summers on the cool, breezy island to avoid malaria and other diseases associated with the swampy conditions of the rice plantations. Now it offers a quiet setting for residents and many beautiful, relaxing sites for visitors.

Four in One

The names of three of the four communities that make up the city of North Myrtle Beach are interesting. The Nixon family named Cherry Grove after a group of trees belonging to them and legend has it that Windy Hill received its name from a comment made by the first president of the United States, George Washington. Ocean Drive Beach seems to have taken its name from the now-prohibited practice of driving on the firmly packed sand of the beach, an activity that also is said to have contributed to the roots of NASCAR.

Source: Grand Strand Newcomers Guide and Relocation Magazine