City Directories and History: “It was a part of Craven County in the colonial period and Myrtle Beach area in particular, could be recognized when Long Bay was referred to. Later, this whole section of the state was encompassed by Georgetown District and out of this was carved All Saints Parish which encompassed almost the identical area now referred to as The Grand Strand. It began at Winyah Bay and followed the Waccamaw River to the North Carolina state line; thence to the Atlantic Ocean and down the coast to the beginning.
All Saints Parish was a part of the political subdivision of Georgetown District until Horry District was established around the turn of the nineteenth century and then it was a part of both political districts. It has sometimes been confusing to historical researchers trying to separate All Saints Parish from Georgetown and Horry Districts. The U.S. Intracoastal Waterway was dug during the great depression period of the 1930’s and, since it lay between the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic Ocean, it became the boundary for South Carolina’s modern “Gold Coast” which is now identified as The Grand Strand. Actually, because of water and sewer installations, it is now being depicted on some maps as extending across the Intracoastal Waterway to include such areas as Nixons Cross Roads and Bay Tree Golf Plantation.
The Grand Strand now embraces a number of municipalities including Georgetown, Surfside Beach, Myrtle Beach, Briardiffe Acres and North Myrtle Beach. In addition to municipalities, there are many unincorporated towns which include such areas as Little River, Vaught (often referred to as Arcadian Shores, Chestnut Hill or Hawaiian Village), Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield Beach, Pawley’s Island, etc.
When William Barker Cushing, a young Yankee Naval Lieutenant, captured the village of Little River during the Confederate War, he asked a local citizen where he was and was told he was in All Saints Parish. Cushing, who has since been called “Lincoln’s Commando” because of his many daring exploits, wrote in his report that he captured the small town of All Saints Parish.
The modern Grand Strand has become one of South Carolina’s largest cities during the summer season and continues to grow at an amazing pace and the Greater Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce is now the largest in the state. If this growth continues, it appears the The Grand Strand will become the largest city in the state in a very few years.
And while the Grand Strand is a most attractive area for modern times, so was All Saints Parish of the Antebellum period (the period before the U.S. Civil War). The main difference being that the focal point of the Grand Strand is the beach while that of All Saints Parish was the Waccamaw River. Some of the attractions in All Saints Parish included great rice plantations such as Hobcaw Barony of modern times which was a collection of plantations including Marietta, Strawberry Hill, Friendfield, Michaux’s Point, Calais, Annandale, Youngville, Bellefield, and others. The Elder Statesmen, Bernard M. Baruch was the owner of Hobcaw Barony where he served as host to such notables as Sir Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Moving north from Hobcaw is Arcadia plantation which was assembled and developed between 1906 and 1931 by Dr. Isaac E. Emerson. It includes Prospect Hill, Bannockburn, Qak’Hill, Clifton, Forlorn Hope, Rose Hill and Fairfield. Dr. Emerson had come here from Baltimore, Maryland. Arcadia was bequeathed by Dr. Emerson to his grandson, George Vanderbilt who was a fifth generation descendant of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877) the famous railroad tycoon. From George Vanderbilt the property passed to his only daughter. Lucille Vanderbilt, who with her husband, Wallace Pate, are developing a portion of it today and is known as DeBordieu Colony Club.
When George Washington made his famous Southern Tour, he spent the night of April 29, 1791, at Clifton Plantation and his host was William Alston who was known as “King Billy” to separate him from William Allston of Brookgreen who was known as “Gentleman Billy.” Other famous visitors to the Arcadia plantations included Marquis de Lafayette and Baron de Kalb on June 13, 1777, who had landed on North Island, and President James Monroe who was a guest at Prospect Hill in 1819.
Continuing north are many other plantations including Waterford, Hagley, Weehauka, Tru Blue, Midway, Caledonia, Woodville, Waverly (also known as Waverly Mills because of the large rice processing mills located there), Litchfield, Willbrook, Oakland, Turkey Hill, The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, Laurel Hill, Richmond Hill and Wachesaw. All of the All Saints Parish plantations were on the East side of the Waccamaw River. There were many on the west side as well as on the Peedee and other rivers. These plantations were enormous producers of rice. Some examples include Plowden C.J. Weston who produced 1,252,000 pounds in I860; the estate of Joshua John Ward of Brookgreen plantation produced 4,410,000 pounds in 1860.
This production was possible with the use of large numbers of slaves. Georgetown District had the greatest percentage of slaves in South Carolina in 1860 the total population was 21,305 of which 18,109 (85 percent) were slaves. Governor R.F.W. Allston owned 590 slaves and Joshua John Ward owned more than a thousand. The Civil War doomed the institution of slavery which, of course, ended the era of the great Waccamaw rice plantations. The great aristocratic society that rice culture had spawned disappeared, the rice plantations were useful only for their timber or as hunting preserves.
In 1924, the South Carolina Press Association held their annual meeting in Myrtle Beach. It was there that the newspaper editor and author, James Henry Rice, Jr., said, “From out of the wreck of bygone splendor, with condfident faith in a grander future, I appeal to the manhood and womanhood of South Carolina to restore and perpetuate their richest heritage, the South Carolina coast.” Since that time, The Grand Strand has exhibited phenomenal growth, including the largest concentration of camp grounds in the world; more than twenty-five championship golf courses and other recreational facilities, convention facilities and scores of deluxe hotels and motels. If James Henry Rice, Jr., were alive today, he would probably say that the modern day development of The Grand Strand far exceeded his expectations when he made that address in 1924.”
Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC
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