Myrtle Beach is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. Myrtle Beach is located in a region known as the Grand Strand, that stretches from Georgetown, South Carolina to Little River, South Carolina. The population was 22,759 at the 2000 census. The metropolitan population is counted at 196,629 in 2000. Combining all three counties (Horry, Georgetown, and Brunswick, NC), the metro population is 346,548.
Myrtle Beach is the largest community in The Grand Strand, a major tourist destination along the South Atlantic seaboard of the United States, widely known for its wide beaches, large selection of challenging golf links, excellent seafood restaurants, and outlet-style shopping activities. For this reason, the Myrtle Beach area attracts over 14 million visitors a year.
Myrtle Beach was uninhabited until 1900, when a railroad was built between Conway and Myrtle Beach. The railroad ended in 1899 in the locale of Pine Island and was extended four miles into the future city. The Pavilion, as well as the Seaside Inn, were built in today's downtown.
By the 1930s, the city grew to include areas as far north as present-day Ocean Forest. The Ocean Forest Hotel was built about this time (which was to be demolished in 1974). The Intracoastal Waterway began construction several years later. Almost a year later, the city was incorporated as a town in 1938 and became a city in 1957. Its name was derived from the Wax myrtle shrub that grows throughout the area.
In the 1960s, northern development in what was unincorporated Horry County began to develop, with the newly formed communities of North Myrtle Beach and Briarcliffe Acres.
Myrtle Beach continued to grow, and by the 1970s, had become well associated with tourism. Parts of what is now US 17 Bypass were built later in the decade. The building boom along the Grand Strand began in the late 1970s, with many suburbs of Myrtle Beach such as Surfside Beach and North Myrtle Beach.
By the late 1980s and into the early and mid 1990s, Myrtle Beach grew into the county's 18th largest population gain. The community of Carolina Forest eventually would house 56,000 residents. This community would either be annexed into Myrtle Beach at a later date or would become its own community. Carolina Forest has become home to many non-native residents, many of whom come from the Northeast. Because of relatively low cost of living and many amenities, it has attracted many retirees, some of whom became acquainted with the area while vacationing.
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