![SBB in Murrell's Inlet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/SBB_in_Murrell%27s_Inlet.jpg)
Murrells Inlet is an
unincorporated area
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
in
Georgetown County, South Carolina
Georgetown County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,404. Its county seat is Georgetown. The county was founded in 1769. It is named for George III of the United Kingdom.
Geor ...
, United States. The population was 7,547 at the
2010 census.
It is about 13 miles south of
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
and 21 miles north of
Georgetown, the county seat.
The community was once primarily a fishing village. It has developed in modern times, along with the rest of the
Grand Strand
The Grand Strand is an arc of beach land on the Atlantic Ocean in South Carolina, United States, extending more than from Little River to Winyah Bay. It is located in Horry and Georgetown Counties on the NE South Carolina coast.
The term Gra ...
, as a tourist and retirement location. It is known for the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, a boardwalk overlooking a
salt marsh
A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...
. Many restaurants have been developed along the boardwalk.
Geography
Murrells Inlet is located in northeastern Georgetown County at (33.551593, -79.048794).
The northern edge of the CDP follows the
Horry County
Horry County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 351,029. It is the fourth-most populous county in South Carolina. The county seat is Conway.
Horry County is the central ...
line.
U.S. Route 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, wit ...
(Ocean Highway) runs through the center of the community, leading northeast to
Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
and southwest to
Georgetown, the
seat
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair (furniture), ...
of Georgetown County.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the Murrells Inlet CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.21%, are water.
It has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa'') and average monthly temperatures range from 46.5 °F in January to 80.5 °F in July
The local
hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 8b.
History
The land around Murrells Inlet has a record of human settlement that goes back thousands of years, before written history.
Shell mound
A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...
s and archeological findings from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Waccamaw River
The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles (225 km) long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1,110 square miles (2886 km²) in the coastal plain ...
document the cultures of indigenous peoples who lived in this area. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants included the historic
Waccamaw
The Waccamaw people were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, who lived in villages along the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers in North and South Carolina in the 18th century.Lerch 328
Language
Very little remains of the Waccamaw ...
people, who took advantage of the natural resources provided by the creeks and rivers. ''Wachesaw'' is loosely translated as "Place of Great Weeping", in reference to the burial grounds. Indian
burial mound
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
s have been found along the high bluffs at Wachesaw that contained European beads, urns and other artifacts.
The recorded history of the area begins with English colonial settlements and the land grants made by the
Lords Proprietors
A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary".
Origin
In the beginning of the European ...
. To encourage development of the colony of South Carolina, they granted large portions of the
Waccamaw Neck The Waccamaw Neck is a long narrow peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Waccamaw River in Georgetown County, South Carolina. The town of Pawleys Island is located on the Waccamaw Neck, as well as the unincorporated mainland area, which incl ...
to men who were willing to transport workers here and settle the land. These estates stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Waccamaw River
The Waccamaw River is a river, approximately 140 miles (225 km) long, in southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina in the United States. It drains an area of approximately 1,110 square miles (2886 km²) in the coastal plain ...
. The baronies were typically tens of thousands of acres that were subdivided into long narrow plantations that ranged from .
The plantations of Murrells Inlet included The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, Laurel Hill, Richmond Hill, and Wachesaw (from south to north). The first land grants were given to Robert Daniell in 1711, who in turn sold to several other speculators. The first planters arrived in the 1730s, some from Virginia, to begin developing agriculture and settlements. Captain John Murrell bought , which were eventually developed as Wachesaw and Richmond Hill plantations. He had a house on a bluff built around 1733. He was a
subsistence farmer
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
, and raised
indigo
Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...
as the primary cash crop. He died in 1771, leaving his land to son Daniel and two daughters. It was divided into the two plantations named above. Wachesaw Plantation was purchased by Allard Belin around 1800. Richmond Hill was held by Murrell descendants until it was sold to an Allston (most likely John Hayes Allston, who pioneered rice planting techniques with clay). In the nineteenth century, rice replaced indigo as the commodity crop throughout the Lowcountry region.
Adjacent plantations were owned by such planters as Plowden Weston, his grandson Plowden C. J. Weston, William Allston, Benjamin Allston, Dr. Henry Flagg, Allard Flagg, Joshua Ward, Allard Belin and their descendants. These plantations prospered during the establishment of the rice culture of the late 1700s and 1800s. These planters generally supported the American cause during the
Revolutionary War. William Allston served as a captain under his brother-in-law
Francis Marion
Brigadier-General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the Swamp Fox, was an American military officer, planter and politician who served during the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. During the Ameri ...
(who had family ties through marriage to the Allston family).
The Waccamaw Neck planters comprised the elite class: they were elected to the state Senate and House, as well as to the Governor's and Lieutenant Governor's offices during the 1800s. The wealthy rice planters also established social, educational, and religious organizations, including the Planters Club, the Winyah Indigo Society in Georgetown, the Hot and Hot Fish Club, the All Saints Academy, the Waccamaw Methodist Mission, and All Saints Waccamaw. Various historic maps dating to 1783 show these family names on plantations. "Murrells Inlet" was likely named after that early family. It has been alternately shown as "Morrall's Inlet" and "Murrays Inlet" on later maps.
The rice plantation era came to an end after the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
with the emancipation of the slaves (rice cultivation was labor-intensive) and a series of hurricanes that climaxed with the 1893 Hurricane (also known as the Flagg flood, where the Atlantic Ocean was reported to meet the Waccamaw River). The loss of the slave labor resulted in the decline of the fields, dikes, and water control structures required for rice cultivation, since planters had to rely on freedmen to work the fields. Several powerful hurricanes following the Civil War and up to the 1893 hurricane resulted in uprooted trees and flood-damaged dikes in the rice fields and ultimately ended the production of rice on the Waccamaw Neck. The 1893 hurricane became known as the Flagg Flood, because the Flagg families that lived in houses on Magnolia Beach (Dr. Arthur, his wife Georgeanne, his son Arthur Jr., and his wife and six children) were swept away in the storm surge. Dr. Ward Flagg (one of three sons) survived the storm and retired to the miller's cottage in Brookgreen and reportedly never visited the ocean again.
After Dr. Allard Flagg's death in 1901, his daughter sold Wachesaw and the Hermitage to Samuel Sidney Fraser, a real estate speculator, who bought and sold interests in several old plantations after the Civil War. Fraser held onto the plantation briefly before selling to Robert Ernest Beaty in 1905. Clarke A. Willcox of
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
purchased Wachesaw and the Hermitage in 1910 for $10,000 to use as a summer retreat. The Willcox family retained the Hermitage, but sold Wachesaw in 1930 to William A. Kimbel, who also bought Richmond Hill with the purpose of developing a large hunting estate. With his purchase of both properties, Kimbel had restored the boundaries of John Murrell's original plantation.
In 1920, Dr. Julius A. Mood of Sumter and a group of sportsmen bought Brookgreen, Springfield, Laurel Hill, and The Oaks to use as a hunting preserve. His daughter, Julia Mood Peterkin, made several visits to Brookgreen and used the area as the setting for some of her novels. She won the
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...
for ''
Scarlet Sister Mary
''Scarlet Sister Mary'' is a 1928 novel by Julia Peterkin. It won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1929. The book was called obscene and banned at the public library in Gaffney, South Carolina. ''The Gaffney Ledger'' newspaper, however, se ...
'' in 1928. Club members enjoyed their hunting paradise for ten years, as a succession of owners conserved the property before selling out to yet another wealthy outsider seeking a rural estate in the South where land was cheap. After numerous owners, railroad magnate Archer Milton Huntington purchased Brookgreen in 1930. At first, he and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, intended Brookgreen as a winter resort. Eventually, they decided to use the plantation as an outdoor gallery for Mrs. Huntington's award-winning sculptures. The Huntingtons constructed
Atalaya, a Spanish-style fort, on the beach to use for her studio and living quarters at what is now
Huntington Beach State Park
Huntington Beach State Park is a 2500 acre coastal preserve and state park near Murrells Inlet, in Georgetown County, South Carolina. It has a large sandy beach, few beach-goers, and numerous wild birds to watch over the seasons.
History
The pa ...
, abandoning the plantation houses.
The years from
Reconstruction
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
until World War I saw an increase in the number of settlers who moved to Murrells Inlet to enjoy the natural resources provided. The family names listed in the 1900–1930 census records reflect the growth and are still found in Murrells Inlet today. The families that moved into this area were from communities like
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
,
Conway,
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Irish ...
, and other nearby counties.
The transportation corridors up to the 1900s were primarily the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic Ocean for boats, and the Kings Road (used during
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's visit) and the River Road (along the Waccamaw River near the plantation houses) for horse and wagons. These dirt paths were crude rough paths that bore no resemblance to today's modern highways. Highway 17 was paved around 1933 as part of a federal effort to provide paved roads across the United States. Early shipping routes relied on the deepwater access provided by the Waccamaw River to move vast quantities of materials and goods. The ''Comanche'' was an early steamship that called on Wachesaw Landing to deliver passengers and mail to Murrells Inlet.
Historic landmarks
Murrells Inlet landmarks that are registered and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
:
*
Atalaya
*
Murrells Inlet Historic District
Murrells Inlet Historic District is a national historic district located at Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina. The district encompasses 37 contributing buildings and contains a significant concentration of buildings that visuall ...
*
Richmond Hill
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census
The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, there were 9,740 people, 4,129 households, and 2,773 families residing in the CDP.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 8,547 people, 2,585 households, and 1,654 families residing in the CDP. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 751.8 people per square mile (290.3/km
2). There were 3,151 housing units at an average density of 429.3/sq mi (165.8/km
2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.59%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 7.12%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.16%
Native American, 0.29%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.04%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.20% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.60% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.62% of the population.
There were 2,585 households, out of which 17.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.59.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 15.5% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 31.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,877, and the median income for a family was $47,194. Males had a median income of $30,562 versus $26,178 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the CDP was $28,197. About 5.4% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Wendi Nix
Wendi Nix (born September 17, 1974) is an American anchor and sports reporter for ESPN.
Professional
Nix is the former co-host of ESPN's number one program, ''NFL Live''. Nix primarily handles coverage for NFL and college football games featurin ...
,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
analyst
*
Mickey Spillane
Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, whose stories often feature his signature detective character, Mike Hammer (character), Mike Hammer. More than 225 million c ...
, author of Mike Hammer novels
See also
*
Brookgreen Gardens
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails thro ...
*
Hot and Hot Fish Club
Hot or the acronym HOT may refer to:
Food and drink
*Pungency, in food, a spicy or hot quality
*Hot, a Wine tasting descriptors#D–H, wine tasting descriptor
Places
*Hot district, a district of Chiang Mai province, Thailand
**Hot subdistrict, ...
*
Inlet Square Mall
Inlet Square Mall is a single-level regional shopping center in Garden City, South Carolina, United States. Belk is the last major anchor with junior anchor Planet Fitness and with two vacant major anchors last occupied by Kmart, JCPenney, and va ...
References
External links
Murrells Inlet 2020Atalaya Castle Information
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Georgetown County, South Carolina
Census-designated places in South Carolina
Restaurant districts and streets in the United States
Populated coastal places in South Carolina