Myrtle Beach, SC is a world-renowned vacation destination. It consistently ranks as one of the top locations in the United States for beach vacations. However, many of the people who love Myrtle Beach have no idea how it became so popular for beach vacations. At one point, Myrtle Beach was nothing more than a giant forest, as hard as that is to believe. Myrtle Beach, SC took a long road to arrive at its current status as the premier destination for beach vacations, but its story is certainly an interesting one.
"Long Bay," now known as the "Grand Strand" was home to the Waccamaw Tribe of Native Americans before any European settlers arrived in what is considered present day Myrtle Beach. There are few written reports from the Europeans who settled in Long Bay, but historians have been able to piece together documents such as land grants to show that the settlers attempted to grow crops such as indigo and tobacco. The settlers' results were nothing spectacular as most of the soil from the coast was simply too sandy for a good crop return.
It's hard to imagine now, but the Myrtle Beach, SC that hosts so many beach vacations per year in the present was once mostly uninhabited. Myrtle Beach remained mostly barren and untouched throughout the American Revolution (an interesting aside-- during his tour of the Southern states while making battle plans, George Washington visited and stayed the night at Windy Hill, now considered part of North Myrtle Beach, SC). In 1899, Burroughs and Collins (a real estate development company) began creating the Conway & Seashore Railroad to move timber and other goods from the coast to the inland areas of South Carolina.
The first " beach vacations" in Myrtle Beach were actually taken by railroad workers after long weeks of work on the railroad. It wasn't until the beginning of the 20th century that Franklin Burroughs of Burroughs and Collins had the idea of turning "New Town," as it was called then, into the bustling vacation destination that would become known as Myrtle Beach. Burroughs envisioned creating a vacation destination much like those in Florida and the Cape Cod area of the Northeast. Burroughs passed away in 1897 but his sons continued his idea, completed the railroad, and founded the Seaside Inn in 1901.
"New Town" maintained steady growth and incorporated in 1957. Taking the name of a popular local shrub, the Southern Wax Myrtle, Myrtle Beach received its new name. Since that time, Myrtle Beach has grown exponentially and continues to do so. It has been and is sure remain one of the top vacation destinations for United States vacationers for years to come.
