WonderWorks, Myrtle Beach and Hollywood Wax Museum, Myrtle Beach.
Though Myrtle Beach is less than 100 years old (it was incorporated in 1938 and didn’t become a city until 1957), the Grand Strand is filled with fascinating and important history dating back to the prehistoric era when indigenous peoples roamed and settled the lands. Evidence of this history, and through the colonial period, revolutionary, antebellum, Civil War eras, and beyond to the mid-20th century, are all on display at the Horry County Museum in Conway. A city of significant historical importance, Conway was founded in 1732 and is loaded with historical markers, self-guided walking tours, shops, restaurants, and a full-time live musical theater.
Did you know that around 600 German P.O.W.s were housed and worked in the Myrtle Beach area during WWII? The first P.O.W.s were housed around what is now 70th Ave N., and eventually moved to what was called “Splinter City” at the Air Force Base, now The Market Common. Splinter City lives on as a free Disc Golf course. Some of these former P.O.W.s stayed and resettled here after the war and their descendants are still in the area. Learn more about this fascinating history and see photos of the old camps at the Horry County Museum. A guided historical motorcoach tour on June 8 will commemorate the arrival of these P.O.W.s, visit several sites, stop for a lunch buffet and include stops at several museums. (see www.visitmyrtlebeach.com for tickets and information)
Equally important to our Grand Strand history, the port city of Georgetown was founded in 1729, though settlements go back much further. The third oldest city in South Carolina, Georgetown was famous for its international seaport beginning in 1732 and was vital to the trade in indigo, cotton, tobacco, pine tar, and most importantly, rice.
Georgetown, with its charming historic district, boasts shops, restaurants, grand antebellum homes, sailing excursions, museums, and antique stores, all just a few blocks off of U.S. 17. Here, you’ll find several museums that offer fascinating insights into the Lowcountry’s past.
Kaminski House Museum, Georgetown.
The Kaminski House Museum, the Rice Museum, and the South Carolina Maritime Museum are all located on Front Street, and within walking distance of each other. Nearby, the Gullah Museum and the Georgetown County Museum also provide rare glimpses of the region’s people and past.
Myrtle Beach, too, has it’s museums, including the fun and whimsical, such as the Hollywood Wax Museum, the Myrtle Beach Pinball Museum, the Wheels of Yesteryear (a must-visit car museum), Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, the Children’s Museum of South Carolina, EdVenture Children’s Museum (Market Common), Wonderworks, and the Grand Strand Model Railroad Club, to name a few. Ripley’s Aquarium is ever-expanding, offering even more family-friendly edu-tainment.
For a more refined museum and gallery experience in Myrtle Beach, don’t miss the Franklin G. Burroughs - Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum near Springmaid Pier. Most of the museum’s 11 galleries sit within a rehabilitated beach home, now celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Warbird Park (Market Common), which recently underwent a major expansion, features an outdoor display of the U.S.A.F. military presence between 1940 and 1993. It’s home to a memorial beam from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, and a new WWII memorial and trail system. Free to visit.
