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Local Interest
Not so well known outside of the USA, but domestically, Myrtle Beach is very well known indeed. A long-established holiday destination, that has been attracting visitors down the generations with its warm, year-round climate and beautiful natural environment, for well over a century.
Located in the heart of the country's sunbelt, Myrtle Beach & its environs, is not just America's golfing heartland, With over 100 courses to play on, but a destination that welcomes all of its visitors and residents of all ages, with a great selection of activities, attractions and distractions, with thousands of bars and restaurants to choose from, a thriving nightlife along the Strand, bustling malls and shopping for all tastes, live entertainment, theatre, aquarium, wildlife parks, national parks, theme parks, sailing, fishing, flying, relaxing on the beach or meandering by boat along the intracoastal waterways. Myrtle Beach has something for everyone.
Grand Strand: 60 miles of perfect white sand
Grand Strand History
The Myrtle Beach area is rich in culture and tradition. Continuous efforts are made to preserve and commemorate the past through museums, landmarks and tales of bygone days.
- Kings Highway began as an Indian trail long before Europeans settled along the Grand Strand. Later, this trail became the route from the northern states to Charleston and Savannah.
- The area’s first inhabitants were the Waccamaw and Winyah Indians, who named the region Chicora, meaning “the land.”
- Early attempts by European explorers to settle the Grand Strand were disastrous. Spaniard Lucas Vasques de Allyon founded the first colony in North America here in 1526, but the settlement was ravaged by disease and the inhabitants perished within a year.
- Before the Civil War, plantation owners turned Pawleys Island into one of the first summer resorts on the Atlantic coast. Historic beach cottages and other landmarks still stand.
- Until the 1900s, the beaches of Horry County were virtually uninhabited due to the county’s geographical inaccessibility and poor economy.
- Near the turn of the century, the Burroughs & Collins Company, a timber/turpentine firm with extensive beachfront holdings, began developing the resort potential of the Strand. In 1901, the company built the beach’s first hotel, the Seaside Inn. At that time, oceanfront lots sold for $25 and buyers received an extra lot if they built a house valued at $500 or more. The beach community was called New Town until the Horry Herald newspaper held a contest to name the area. Mrs. F.G. Burroughs, wife of the founder of Burroughs & Collins, won with the name Myrtle Beach, which she chose for the many wax myrtle trees growing wild along the shore.
- In the 1920s, a group of businessmen began building an upscale resort called Arcady at the north end of the community. Arcady featured the present Pine Lakes International Country Club (home of the Strand’s first golf club and birthplace of Sports Illustrated) and the legendary Ocean Forest Hotel.
Island Green: for lifestyle, great golf & tranquil trails
- In 1936, the Intracoastal Waterway was opened to pleasure boats and commercial shipping. During the 1940s, the Air Force Base was established and used for training and coastal patrols during World War II. The base was closed in 1993. The Myrtle Beach Pavilion was built in 1949, followed closely by the installation of the historic band organ and carousel at that site.
- Myrtle Beach was incorporated in 1938 and became a city in 1957.
- Hurricane Hazel demolished buildings and trees along the Strand in 1954, clearing the way for new hotels and homes. During the rebuilding phase of the 1960s, a golf boom began, with new courses being built each year. The number of golf courses along the Grand Strand now totals around 115.
- The Myrtle Beach Convention Center, which houses the S.C. Hall of Fame, opened in 1970.
- During the ’70s, new construction in the area topped $75 million, and the population tripled.
- In the 1970s and ’80s, construction of attractions, homes, retail shops and other amenities increased steadily, paving the way for another boom in the early ’90s. The Myrtle Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area is the 13th fastest growing area in the nation, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released in April 2001. The area grew 36.5% over the past decade.
- In October 2006, the Myrtle Beach Pavillion permanently closed after 58 years in business.
Sources: Myrtle Beach Area Statistical Abstract (Oct 2007).
Intracoastal Waterway: just go with the flow
A portion of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway runs through Horry County from the North Carolina / South Carolina state line and flows into the Waccamaw River at Enterprise Landing. The Socastee portion is part of a 24 mile cut made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to connect the Little River and Socastee Creek. Completed in 1936, the Waterway is 90 feet in width, 12 feet deep and approximately 30 miles long. It is the longest man-made ditch in the entire length of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. As roads were slow to be developed and paved, the Waterway added a much-needed dimension to the transportation in the area. Today, it is primarily used for recreation craft and as a protected means of transporting larger craft back and forth between Maine and Florida.
Newly Opened: Hard Rock Theme Park. Check out the great rides
