The community was once primarily a fishing village. It has developed in modern times, along with the rest of the Grand Strand, as a tourist and retirement location. It is known for the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, a 1⁄2-mile-long (0.8km) boardwalk overlooking a salt marsh. Many restaurants have been developed along the boardwalk.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the Murrells Inlet CDP has a total area of 7.5 square miles (19.5km2), of which 7.4 square miles (19.1km2) are land and 0.2 square miles (0.4km2), or 2.21%, are water.[6] It has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) and average monthly temperatures range from 46.5°F in January to 80.5°F in July.[8] The local hardiness zone is 8b.
The land around Murrells Inlet has a record of human settlement that goes back thousands of years, before written history. Shell mounds and archeological findings from the Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River document the cultures of indigenous peoples who lived in this area. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants included the historic 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 mounds 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. To encourage development of the colony of South Carolina, they granted large portions of the Waccamaw Neck 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 baronies were typically tens of thousands of acres that were subdivided into long narrow plantations that ranged from 500 to 1,500 acres (200 to 610ha).
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 2,340 acres (950ha), 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, and raised indigo 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, 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 (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 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 (Arthur, his wife Georgeanne, his son Arthur Jr., and his wife and six children) were swept away in the storm surge. 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 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 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, 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 for Scarlet Sister Mary 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, abandoning the plantation houses.[citation needed]
The years from Reconstruction 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, Conway, Southport, 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'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.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,740 people, 4,129 households, and 2,773 families residing in the CDP.
2010 census
As of the census[4] of 2010, there were 8,547 people, 2,585 households, and 1,654 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 751.8 inhabitants per square mile (290.3/km2). There were 3,151 housing units at an average density of 429.3 per square mile (165.8/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.59% White, 7.12% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino 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 for the CDP was $28,197. About 5.4% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
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.
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.
McClellanville is a small fishing town in rural Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 605 at the 2020 census. It is situated on the Atlantic coast, on land surrounded by Francis Marion National Forest, and has traditionally derived its livelihood from the Atlantic Ocean and coastal marshes by fishing, shrimping and oystering. McClellanville is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area and the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area.
Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, in the Lowcountry. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 9,163. Located on Winyah Bay at the confluence of the Black, Great Pee Dee, Waccamaw, and Sampit rivers, Georgetown is the second largest seaport in South Carolina, handling over 960,000 tons of materials a year, while Charleston is the largest.
Pawleys Island is a town in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States, and the Atlantic coast barrier island on which the town is located.
Bucksport is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 876 at the 2010 census. It is a rural port on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at the merger point with the Waccamaw River. The port has some services available for boaters and is also home to the Bucksport Restaurant.
Garden City, sometimes known as Garden City Beach, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,209 at the 2010 census. Garden City Beach is located directly south of Surfside Beach. The developed part of the beach extends south beyond the limits of the Garden City CDP, into Georgetown County, and ends on a peninsula at the mouth of Murrells Inlet.
Little River is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 11,711 at the 2020 census.
Washington Allston was an American painter and poet, born in Waccamaw Parish, South Carolina. Allston pioneered America's Romantic movement of landscape painting. He was well known during his lifetime for his experiments with dramatic subject matter and his bold use of light and atmospheric color. While his early artworks concentrate on grandiose and spectacular aspects of nature, his later pieces represent a more subjective and visionary approach.
Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The 9,100-acre (37 km2) property includes several themed gardens featuring American figurative sculptures, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on the property. It was founded by Archer Milton Huntington, stepson of railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington, and Anna Hyatt Huntington, his wife, to feature sculptures by Anna and her sister Harriet Randolph Hyatt Mayor, along with other American sculptors. Brookgreen Gardens was opened in 1932. It was developed on property of four former rice plantations, taking its name from the former Brookgreen Plantation, which dates to the antebellum period.
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 along the eastern border between the two states into the Atlantic Ocean. Along its upper course, it is a slow-moving, blackwater river surrounded by vast wetlands, passable only by shallow-draft watercraft such as canoe. Along its lower course, it is lined by sandy banks and old plantation houses, providing an important navigation channel with a unique geography, flowing roughly parallel to the coast.
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.
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 includes the areas of Litchfield Beach and North Litchfield Beach. The entire area shares Zip Code 29585. The Waccamaw Neck is located south of Myrtle Beach on the Grand Strand, and just north of the historic seaport of Georgetown.
Robert Francis Withers Allston was the 67th Governor of South Carolina. He was born in Waccamaw, South Carolina.
Anna Vaughn Hyatt Huntington was an American sculptor who was among New York City's most prominent sculptors in the early 20th century. At a time when very few women were successful artists, she had a thriving career. Hyatt Huntington exhibited often, traveled widely, received critical acclaim at home and abroad, and won multiple awards and commissions.
Atalaya Castle, often known simply as Atalaya, was the winter home of industrialist and philanthropist Archer M. Huntington and his wife, the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, located in Huntington Beach State Park near the Atlantic coast in Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina.
Sandy Island is the name of a small unincorporated community in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States, and a larger island between the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers that has been preserved as a refuge and nature center.
Joshua John Ward, of Georgetown County, South Carolina, is known as the largest American slaveholder, dubbed "the king of the rice planters".
Pee Dee River Rice Planters Historic District is a set of historic rice plantation properties and national historic district located near Georgetown, Georgetown County, South Carolina.
Richmond Hill Plantation Archeological Sites consists of five historic archaeological sites located near Murrells Inlet, Georgetown County, South Carolina. The Richmond Hill Plantation complex sites include remains of the planter's house, two possible overseers' houses, approximately 20 slave houses, a slave cemetery, a rice barn, and rice fields and dikes. The plantation house, overseers' houses, and slave houses were all burned by about 1930. Richmond Hill plantation was owned by Dr. John D. Magill, who was considered one of the least efficient planters in the area and the most brutal slaveowner among the Georgetown District rice planters.
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