Carolina Forest is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...

(CDP) in

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 ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 23,342. It is located west of

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 ...

and east of Conway in an area planned by

International Paper The International Paper Company is an American pulp and paper company, the largest such company in the world. It has approximately 56,000 employees, and is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. History The company was incorporated January 31 ...

in the late 1990s. Most of the development follows the Carolina Forest Master Plan, developed cooperatively between International Paper and the Horry County Government. Carolina Forest also includes the unincorporated community of Pine Island.

Geography

Carolina Forest is situated west of the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...

; between U.S. Route 501 and International Drive. Carolina Forest was developed in and around existing

Longleaf Pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

forests and

savannas A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, within 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 plai ...

watershed, part of the greater lower watershed of the Pee Dee River. The topography of the region between the Waccamaw River and the Intracoastal Waterway is spotted with

Carolina Bay Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida.Kaczorowski, R. T. (1977) '' ...

s, which are elliptical-shaped depressions in the land, often filled with thick vegetation and rich in

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

History

Carolina Forest was once part of a larger tract of land in eastern

called the Buist Tract. Originally owned by Burroughs & Chapin, International Paper bought the Buist Tract in 1937. It was used as part of the Conway Bombing and Gunnery Range during World War II. In 1960, the company donated part of the tract for what is now

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

(located several miles away from Carolina Forest). In 1989, approximately north of Carolina Forest were donated to the state to form the

Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve is a 10,427-acre natural preserve near Carolina Forest, South Carolina. Geology Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve is named for one of many Carolina Bays. Recent work by the U.S. Geological Survey has interpreted ...

. In June 1994, Kylee Mueller sold of the remaining of the Buist Tract to Horry County Schools for development of Carolina Forest Elementary School, Carolina Forest Middle School, and Carolina Forest High School. In addition, were sold to form a golf course and residential property. By the end of 1994, International Paper began to sell more of its land. Due to the lack of funding from other sources for road infrastructure, the first of Carolina Forest Boulevard were completed by November 1995 by International Paper. Further expansions of both Carolina Forest Boulevard and River Oaks Drive (creating an loop) would open up to development west of the Intracoastal Waterway. Carolina Forest Boulevard was completed in December 1996, with River Oaks Drive being completed in December 1997. On December 2, 1997,

council voted to freeze zoning rules in an area of Carolina Forest for 20 years in exchange for land to build parks and roads in an 8–3 vote on the development agreement. An estimated 35,000 people would live in the covered by the agreement. In the agreement, Horry County did not require International Paper to widen

Carolina Forest Boulevard Carolina Forest Boulevard is the main roadway through Carolina Forest, South Carolina, initially built when the development by International Paper was created in the 1990s. The road is approximately in length, and runs through the center of the ...

or River Oaks Drive to four lanes. Land would be given to the county at no cost for the then-future SC Highway 31 north and south of the

Robert Grissom Parkway Robert M. Grissom Parkway, locally known as Grissom Parkway, is a major four-lane connector highway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The road begins at Harrelson Boulevard near Myrtle Beach International Airport and terminates in Carolina Forest, ...

bridge. Approximately was set aside for future schools, which would include Ocean Bay Elementary and Middle Schools. Because nearly half of Carolina Forest was open space, the area was exempt from future open space directives set by Horry County. According to the 2010 census, Carolina Forest's population increased from 3400 in 2000 to 21,000."Carolina Forest community hoping for benefits from redistricting," Brad Dickerson, ''The Sun News'', June 16, 2011

Education

Carolina Forest has a public library, a branch of the Horry County Memorial Library.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

References

External links

Carolina Forest Master Plan
{{authority control Census-designated places in South Carolina Census-designated places in Horry County, South Carolina Unincorporated communities in South Carolina Unincorporated communities in Horry County, South Carolina