Myrtle Beach Spotlight

Myrtle Beach, SC is a bustling community filled with amazing beaches, attractions, and restaurants. While Myrtle Beach is now one of the busiest travel destinations in the world, this has not always been the case. It is hard to imagine that such a developed community could have humble beginnings dating back to the Native Americans. Long before Europeans settled the area, Native Americans called the Grand Strand home. Kings Highway, one of the busiest roads in Myrtle Beach, even began as an Indian Trail. An initial attempt at European settlement by Spain in 1526 was a disaster with the population dying off within a year from sickness. English colonists later began settling the area in the1700s . Little development of the community took place until the1900s. The Burroughs & Collins Company built the Seaside Inn as Myrtle Beach’s first hotel near the turn of the century. In the 1920s, more development began to take place. Wealthy businessmen began to design and build an exclusive resort called Arcady that would feature what is presently known as Pine Lakes International Country Club and the Ocean Forest Hotel. This development would give birth to the golf tourism industry in Myrtle Beach and Sports Illustrated magazine.. In the 1960s, the golf industry began to explode in the area with multiple courses being added each year. Myrtle Beach now welcomes over 19 million visitors each year. Growth has been and continues to be central to life in Myrtle Beach. With an ever growing tourism industry and permanent population, Myrtle Beach still continues to develop to meet new needs of the area