Fascinating Facts About Myrtle Beach History – Still a Great Vacation Spot

Have you ever visited Myrtle Beach, SC, for a family vacation? I know I did. There are photographs dating from the mid-1950s of my brother and I playing in the sand in the Windy Hill area. Then years later when I was raising my family, we would go to Myrtle Beach regularly, usually staying at one of the beachfront campgrounds that actually still receives visitors today, although most are now in RVs instead. of tents.

I have lived here for 20 years and have learned some interesting little details from the history that I would like to share with you. First, the origin of the name “Myrtle” Beach. This area is still teeming with beautiful wax myrtle trees that bloom every June or July and remain in bloom for most of the summer. Its flowers are beautiful shades of pink, purple and white. Myrtle trees line most of our road medians. I have several in my garden. No respectable property here is without some myrtle trees.

Some of you who are golfers may know that Pine Lakes Country Club is the oldest golf course in Myrtle Beach. In the early 1920s, a group of entrepreneurs began building a stylish getaway (now the Pine Lakes Country Club) and the Ocean Forest Hotel.

The golf course was completed in 1927 and today it is as elegant as a reminder of the good life of yesteryear. Sam Snead and Gene Sarazen, household names for any golfer, socialized with the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers here. The old Scottish tradition continues today. The country club is the place many families still choose for debutante affairs “coming out of the closet” for their daughters or family weddings.

The Ocean Forest Hotel was THE hotel – very large with over 300 rooms, crystal chandeliers, a ballroom to dance the night away, swimming pools – inside and out; and even stable for your horses. It was home to the first radio station WMY13. In short, it was THE PLACE to be if you were in Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1974, to make room for “progress.”

In those days, long ago, Myrtle Beach had a weekly newspaper, and the phone operators kept up with everyone and knew everything that was going on. In 1952, the first Miss South Carolina pageant was held and none other than our own Mickey Spillane was one of the judges.

These are just a few glimpses of the rich history of one of America’s favorite beaches.

I have lived here for 20 years and have learned to appreciate history and modern life here on this 60 mile stretch of surf and sand.

Friends and family constantly want to come visit us. Sometimes I can host them myself, but when I can’t I always recommend them to Oceanfront Vacation Rentals, a local company that I have learned to trust and have learned to trust to find the perfect accommodations and even golf packages for them. friends of my husband who love. the game as much as he.