You’ve probably seen the neon signs, the towering SkyWheel, and the endless rows of pancake houses. But honestly, if you stepped back into the history of Myrtle Beach about 120 years ago, you wouldn't recognize a single thing. It was basically a desolate stretch of scrub oaks and dunes that nobody wanted. Seriously. People in the late 1800s thought the area was a wasteland. It was just a place where loggers cut down cypress trees to ship them inland.
The Rough Beginnings of "New Town"
Long before the Spring Breakers arrived, the Waccamaw and Winyah Indians lived here. They called the area "Chicora," which basically means "the land." But they didn't stick around once the settlers showed up. By the late 1800s, the Burroughs & Collins Company—a timber and turpentine outfit—owned most of the land. They had a problem, though. They needed a way to get their workers to the coast for a little R&R, so they built a railroad from Conway to the beach.
The first real hotel, the Seaside Inn, went up in 1901. Back then, there was no name for the place. People just called it "New Town." That’s a bit generic, right? A contest was held to give the area a better identity. Mrs. F.E. Burroughs, the wife of the founder, suggested "Myrtle Beach" because of the abundance of wax myrtle bushes growing wild along the shore. It stuck.
The early days were rough. There was no electricity. No running water. If you wanted to visit, you had to be okay with sand flies and kerosene lamps. But the vibe was starting to shift. By the 1920s, the Ocean Forest Country Club and Hotel was built. It was a massive, opulent structure that looked like something out of The Great Gatsby. It had its own golf course—the first real one in the area—and it signaled that Myrtle Beach wasn't just for loggers anymore. It was for the elite.
Survival and the 1954 Turning Point
The Great Depression hit everyone hard, and the grand Ocean Forest struggled. But the real game-changer wasn't an economic shift; it was a weather event. On October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel slammed into the coast. It was a Category 4 monster.
Hazel leveled the Grand Strand. It destroyed most of the older, wooden cottages that lined the ocean. Over 80% of the beachfront structures were just... gone. You’d think that would be the end of the history of Myrtle Beach, but it was actually the catalyst for the modern era. Because everything was wiped clean, developers had a blank slate. They didn't rebuild the tiny cottages; they built motels. They built attractions. This was the birth of the "Motel Row" that defined the 60s and 70s.
During this post-war boom, the area became a haven for the "Shag." If you haven't seen it, the Shag is a type of swing dance that supposedly started right here. It’s the official state dance of South Carolina now. It was born in the beach clubs where R&B music—or "beach music"—was played. White teenagers would sneak into clubs to hear the music that wasn't being played on mainstream radio. It created a cultural subculture that still defines the Grand Strand today.
The Rise of the Golf Capital
You can't talk about this place without talking about the grass. Specifically, the fairways. In 1954, Pine Lakes International Country Club (then called Ocean Forest) became the birthplace of Sports Illustrated. A group of 67 writers and publishers met there to plan the magazine.
By the 70s and 80s, the area exploded with golf courses. Architects like Robert Trent Jones and Jack Nicklaus started putting their stamps on the landscape. Today, there are around 90 courses. It’s a huge part of the local economy. People don't just come for the waves; they come for the bunkers.
The Entertainment Explosion of the 90s
For a long time, Myrtle Beach was a summer-only destination. After Labor Day, the place would basically roll up the sidewalks and wait for May. That changed in 1986 when Calvin Gilmore opened The Carolina Opry.
People thought he was crazy. "Country music at the beach?" they asked. But it worked. It proved that people wanted entertainment that didn't involve sand in their shoes. This paved the way for:
- Dixie Stampede (now Dolly Parton’s Celebration! Dinner Show)
- The Alabama Theatre
- Broadway at the Beach
- The Palace Theatre
Suddenly, the history of Myrtle Beach became one of year-round tourism. The city started marketing to retirees and families in the Midwest and Northeast. The 1990s were a building frenzy. This is when the "Grand Strand" (the 60-mile stretch of beach) really solidified its identity as a commercial powerhouse.
Misconceptions and the "Dirty Myrtle" Nickname
Let’s be real for a second. If you look up the area online, you might see people calling it "Dirty Myrtle." Some locals hate it; some embrace it. The nickname usually refers to the gritty, neon-soaked nostalgia of the old downtown or the perceived rowdiness of Bike Week.
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But looking at the actual data, the city has poured billions into redevelopment. The Boardwalk, which opened in 2010, was a massive effort to clean up the image of the downtown area. It replaced old, crumbling lots with a structured, family-friendly walkway that connects the 2nd Avenue Pier to the 14th Avenue Pier.
Another big misconception is that the beach is "fake." While many of the dunes have been replenished by the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent erosion (a process called beach nourishment), the sand and the coastline are very much real. It’s a constant battle against the Atlantic, which is always trying to reclaim the land.
What Really Happened with the Pavilions?
If you ask anyone who visited before 2006, they’ll get misty-eyed about the Myrtle Beach Pavilion. It was an iconic amusement park right on the ocean. It had a wooden roller coaster called the Hurricane and a historic carousel from 1912.
When it closed in 2006, it felt like the heart of the city was ripped out. The owners, Burroughs & Chapin, cited rising costs and a shift in how people spent their money. The land sat empty for years, a giant "hole" in the middle of the city. Today, that space is used for festivals like the Carolina Country Music Fest, which draws 30,000+ people every year. The loss of the Pavilion marked the end of the "old school" Myrtle Beach and the beginning of the high-rise resort era.
Why This History Matters Today
Understanding the history of Myrtle Beach helps you see past the tourist traps. It’s a story of resilience. This city has been flattened by hurricanes, gutted by depressions, and transformed by visionary (and sometimes risky) real estate bets.
It grew from a timber camp to a segregated beach destination, to a golf mecca, and finally to a diverse family resort. Even the darker parts of its history, like the segregation of Atlantic Beach (the "Black Pearl"), are being more openly discussed and preserved now. Atlantic Beach remains one of the few black-owned stretches of coastline in the US, located right in the middle of the Grand Strand.
Actionable Ways to Experience the History
If you're visiting and want to see the "real" side of this story, don't just stay in your resort. Here is how you can actually touch the past:
- Visit the Pine Lakes International Country Club: Even if you don't golf, the clubhouse is full of history and is the oldest in the area.
- Check out the Myrtle Beach Colored School Museum: This restored schoolhouse offers a sobering and vital look at what life was like for the African American community during the Jim Crow era.
- Walk the Golden Mile: This is the stretch between 31st Ave N and 52nd Ave N. It’s where the high-rises disappear and the old-school beach houses remain. It’s the closest you’ll get to seeing what the beach looked like in the 1950s.
- Eat at the Sea Captain's House: Originally built as a family vacation home in 1930, it survived Hurricane Hazel and is one of the oldest structures still standing on the oceanfront.
- Explore the Horry County Museum: Located in nearby Conway, it has deep-dive exhibits on the timber industry that started it all.
The evolution of the Grand Strand is still happening. Right now, there’s a massive "Arts & Innovation District" being built to revitalize the downtown even further. The city is trying to move away from just being a "cheap vacation" spot and toward being a cultural hub. Whether it loses its kitschy charm in the process is a debate you'll hear in every local coffee shop.
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When you stand on the sand today, you're standing on a place that was once considered worthless. It took a hundred years of grit, a few hurricanes, and a lot of neon to turn "New Town" into the destination it is today.
To get the most out of your next trip, start by visiting the L.W. Paul Living History Farm in nearby Conway to see how the original settlers lived before the tourism boom. Then, take a drive down Ocean Boulevard at night. The contrast between the 19th-century farm life and the 21st-century neon lights is the best way to grasp how far this stretch of sand has really come.