PAGE NUMBER INTRODUCTION...............................................................................1 HISTORY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION.......................................1-6 NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE 1 ESTABLISHMENT OF CURRENT CULTURE 1-3 COMMUNITIES AND TOWNSHIPS 3-4 GULLAH GEECHE CULTURE 4 HISTORY MUSEUMS 4-5 HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND EVENTS 5 HISTORY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION FINDINGS 6 RURAL CULTURE...............................................................................7-10 CENTURY FARMS 7 AGRITOURISM 7-8 NATURE: WILDLIFE, HUNTING AND FISHING 8-9 RURAL FOOD 9 RURAL CULTURAL EVENTS 9 RURAL CULTURE FINDINGS 9 BEACH CULTURE..............................................................................10-13 ATTRACTIONS 10 GOLF 10-11 MOTOR SPORTS 11-12 CAMPING 12 BEACH FOOD 12 BEACH CULTURAL EVENTS 12-13 BEACH CULTURE FINDINGS 13 ARTS CULTURE.................................................................................14-15 ARTS CULTURAL EVENTS 15 ARTS CULTURE FINDINGS 15 FAITH-BASED CULTURE....................................................................16 FAITH-BASED CULTURAL EVENTS 16 FAITH-BASED CULTURE FINDINGS 16 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................17 GOALS AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES................................17-18 RESOURCES....................................................................................19 INTRODUCTION NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE From shag dancing to folk art, Horry County celebrates its Historically, Horry County’s original inhabitants were several culture in a variety of ways. Horry County is fortunate to be small Native American Tribes including the Pee Dees, Chico- steeped in history and culture. Managing cultural resources ra, Sirans, Cape Fears, and Waccamaws. It is estimated that means preserving history and heritage, public art and music, in the early 1600s there were approximately 30 individual and physical spaces devoted to cultural activities, such as tribes existing in South Carolina (SCIWAY, 2018). Unfortunate- churches, museums, libraries and art galleries. Planning for ly, the majority of the Native American population was the future of cultural resources is of the utmost importance wiped out during early European settlement due to disease because preserving the individual character and signifi- and forced slavery. While very little remains of these tribes, cance of each of these places and practices contributes to many of geographic and natural resources retain Native the overall community essence of the County. American names, paying homage to the Indigenous roots Annual Cultural Arts Festival and Pauwau of the region. Source: https://discoversouthcarolina.com/products/27974 The Cultural Resources Element catalogs and analyzes var- Native American Cultural Events ious cultural resources of Horry County including facilities, Two tribes remain and actively work to preserve Native Amer- Both the Chicora Indian Tribe and the Waccamaw Indian special events and festivals, and cultural groups. As the ican culture in Horry County. The Waccamaw Indian People People participate in the Annual Cultural Arts Festival and population continues to grow, it will become necessary to were the first tribe recognized by the state of South Carolina Pauwau held annually in the Fall. This gathering features protect and promote the irreplaceable heritage of Horry in 2005. In February 2018, their estimated membership was food vendors , local crafts and handcrafted clothing, and County and its people, as well as sustaining and enhancing roughly 450 (SouthStrandNews, 2018) Early settlement maps traditional dancing. the functions provided by the various cultural facilities and date the Waccamaw Indian People back to the early Dimery organizations that exist in the County. Settlement which was located in what is now the Dog Bluff ESTABLISHMENT OF CURRENT CULTURE area. They were skilled in animal domestication and often Early European settlement in the 1600s was limited by the HISTORY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION had deer, ducks, geese, and chickens. In communal and natural swampy conditions and Little Pee Dee River bound- While several Indigenous peoples inhabited this area centu- private gardens, the Waccamaw farmed and harvested ary (Horry County Historic Resources Survey, 2007). By the ries before European settlers, Horry County’s relative isolation corn, pumpkins, kidney and lima beans, squash, melons, and early 1700s, European settlement began to concentrate geographically from inland South Carolina has greatly influ- tobacco (Waccamaw.org, 2018). In 2004, the tribe received in the Little River area due in part to its location along the enced its development and settlement. Isolation for Horry roughly 20 acres of their ancestral homeland near the Dimery King’s Highway. It was not until the 1730s, when land grants County’s early population was exacerbated by the border of Settlement and established the Waccamaw Tribal Grounds. became available, that widely distributed settling began in the County to the South and West by the Little Pee Dee River, Horry County. the East by the Atlantic Ocean, and bisection by the Wac- The Chicora Indian Tribe, while not recognized by the State of camaw River. In addition to this, Horry County is dominated South Carolina, is one of the oldest tribes that reside in Horry Townships in South Carolina started in 1730, when surveyors by natural wetlands and swampy conditions. None-the-less, County. Originally located closer to the Horry and George- employed by England’s King George II, laid out eleven town- several Native American tribes and European settlements town County lines, the Chicora were known for their river, ships. At that time, the Kings Town Township encompassed established themselves in the County, and with innovations saltwater marsh, and sea fishing. The Chicora now identify much of what is now the City of Conway. In 1769, the Kings in agriculture, technology and industry Horry County began the Hickory Grove area as the Chicora Tribal Grounds where Town Township became part the Georgetown District, where to grow in population. they hold monthly meetings (ChicoraIndianTribe.org, 2018). in 1785 it would become known as Kingston County. Cultural Resources Element 1 It was not until 1801 that the Horry District was founded in Although the County was spared from severe destruction, A short time after the commencement of railroad transporta- honor of Peter Horry, a lieutenant colonel in the Revolution- the post-Civil War years were nonetheless difficult. Due to tion, the first hotel named “Seaside Inn” opened. That event ary War, a brigadier general in the S.C. Militia, and later the outbreaks of diseases and the generally ailing economy the marked the start of the Grand Strand’s growing popularity as area’s representation to the South Carolina State and House. economic situation was depressed; however, the arrival of a vacation destination, spurring tourist-orientated develop- In 1868, the area was renamed Horry County. the railroad into Conway in 1887 and to the beach in 1901 ment all along the seashore. provided welcomed relief. The natural functions and primary uses of the land in Horry The growing importance of the automobile as a means of County have changed significantly since its founding. Sur- transportation led to increased highway construction in Hor- rounded by the Lumber and Little Pee Dee Rivers as well as ry County improving accessibility. The opening of the Atlan- the Atlantic Ocean, Horry County’s proud reference as the tic Intracoastal Waterway, which originally was planned to “Independent Republic” stems from the fact that this land enhance homeland security from the sea, indirectly contrib- was unreachable to anybody from the land side for a long uted to the growing attractiveness of the area as a vacation time. Its geographic isolation and diverse natural resourc- destination. The transformation from an agricultural based es and landscapes made Horry County a unique place for economy to a tourist driven destination is largely attributed many different peoples who settled here. From second sons to the advent of personal transportation and accessibility to of English noblemen to pirates and fishermen, fur traders, log- the area. gers and farmers, the beauty and the wealth of the land has attracted people ever since its exploration, and has spurred the development of settlements throughout the territory. Train Service on Main Street in Conway Source: Horry County Museum The economic turmoil led to the closure of most of the na- val shipyards along the Waccamaw River, and had a neg- ative effect on the local employment and income situation. This was somewhat compensated by the growing popularity and suitability of planting tobacco. The Early “Seaside Inn” Source: Horry County Museum 19th Century Logging Crew Historic Tobacco Barn; Drying Tobacco Source: Horry County Museum Source: Horry County Museum Cultural Resources Element 2 Since the 1950s, the importance of the tourist industry in Horry County has grown substantially to become the main revenue generator and land use converter. Over the years the tourist industry has spread geographically all across the County, creating a diverse mix of land uses. COMMUNITIES AND TOWNSHIPS Since its renaming, Horry County has been further divided into townships, each with unique characteristics and names developing within them. The unincorporated areas of Horry County have many unique place names which have survived, in some cases, for more