Misplaced Pages

#514485

37-612: During colonial and antebellum years, areas near the river were developed extensively for rice cultivation, on large plantations dependent on labor of African slaves. They created complex earthworks with dams and other elements to irrigate the rice fields using tidewaters. In this and other areas of the Low Country , African Americans developed the Gullah people and culture, a distinct creole culture with strong connections through culture, language and cuisine to West African peoples. In July 2006,

74-561: A South Carolina House of Representatives delegation made up of 10 state representatives. In addition, the county has a South Carolina Senate delegation made up of five state senators. The delegations work concurrently to represent county issues in Columbia . The county's State House of Representatives delegation is currently made up of: The county's State Senate delegation is currently made up of: The county council of Horry County consists of members who represent 11 single-member districts with

111-547: A chairman voted at-large. The county council meets at the Horry County Government and Justice Center in the first week of every month. Patricia S. Hartley is the clerk to council, members of the county council include: The Horry County Police Department provides 24-hour services to the unincorporated areas of the county. It is the only county police department in South Carolina. The Horry County Sheriff's Office

148-591: A red-bellied pacu fish ( Piaractus brachypomus ) was caught in the upper portion of the river. Pacus are relatives of piranhas native to South America . South Carolina DNR officials say this find highlights the danger of individuals releasing non-native fish to the wild. Non-native species can sometimes outcompete local species for habitat and food, killing them off, or introduce diseases, with devastating effects on fisheries. 33°20′40″N 79°16′19″W  /  33.3443338°N 79.2719956°W  / 33.3443338; -79.2719956 This article related to

185-627: A regional governmental entity charged with regional and transportation planning, and are the ones included in the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism's "Lowcountry and Resort Islands" area. The area includes the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . Technically, the Lowcountry is synonymous with the areas with a large population of Gullah Geechee peoples of

222-578: A river in South Carolina is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . South Carolina Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country ) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina 's coast, including the Sea Islands . The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an important source of biodiversity in South Carolina. Once known for its slave-based agricultural wealth in rice and indigo , crops that flourished in

259-511: Is responsible for courthouse security, processing of warrants, fingerprinting, registration of sex offenders, funeral escorts, background checks, and managing the J. Reuben Long Detention Center. The South Carolina Highway Patrol has a Troop 5 barracks in Conway, and provides services throughout the county. Myrtle Beach, Conway, Briarcliffe Acres, Atlantic Beach, Surfside Beach, Loris, and Aynor all have their own police departments, which patrol within

296-610: Is the largest county by land area in South Carolina. The highest point in the county is 124 feet (38 m) above sea level. Horry County is in the northeastern corner of South Carolina. It is a diverse land made up of rivers, beaches, forests, and swamps, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Little Pee Dee River and Drowning Creek (also known as the Lumber River ) on its western side, and North Carolina to

333-399: Is under pressure from both development and overharvesting. Mary Jackson was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for her work making sweetgrass baskets. 33°07′34″N 80°00′32″W  /  33.1260618°N 80.0087746°W  / 33.1260618; -80.0087746 Horry County, South Carolina Horry County ( / ˈ ɒr iː / OR -ree ) is the easternmost county in

370-574: 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 . Horry County is the central county in the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . It is in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, about 90 miles (140 km) north of Charleston , and about 130 miles (210 km) east of

407-650: The 1990s, today, there are almost no elected Democrats left above the county level. No Democratic presidential candidate has received more than 40% of the county's vote since 2000. In 2022, the GDP was $ 18.3 billion (about $ 45,922 per capita), and the real GDP was $ 15.3 billion (about $ 38,472 per capita) in chained 2017 dollars . In 2013, PTR Industries, a gunmaker, relocated to the Cool Springs Business Park near Aynor from Bristol, Connecticut . That state had passed restrictive gun control legislation following

SECTION 10

#1733092861515

444-620: The 20th century. The tourism commission advertises both nature-based tourism and historic sites. The pressure of the tourism industry on the coast both encroaches on marshland and places pressure on African American communities. The industry tends to emphasize the Gullah Geechee cultural tradition as part of the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor . Important to this cultural tradition are traditional sweetgrass baskets. But, harvesting natural sweetgrass

481-412: The Horry County Government and Justice Center. The sculpture was designed by artist Garland Weeks . Coastal Monument of Conway designed the stone base. The base of the sculpture is inscribed with the names of the 1801 commissioners on one side and the names of 2011 Horry County Council members on the other; a brief biography of General Peter Horry is on the front. It cost slightly more than $ 16,200 for both

518-747: The Peidmont gentry in the cause for secession . Following the Confederacy 's defeat in the American Civil War , many of the Lowcountry estates had been destroyed by the Union army , with the slaves on the remaining plantations begin emancipated, which finally broke the power of the Lowcountry gentry. Soon timber and phosphate mining became the primary economic power in the Lowcountry, as the remaining rice plantations struggled to compete with those in Texas. The deathblow to

555-690: The abundance of sediment deposits, a region that was compared to the Nile river in Egypt . Due to the harsh climate and labor intensive work required to harvest rice, planters at the time deemed it "impossible" to cultivate the region. The vast majority of slaves to South Carolina where imported for the rice plantations, and as such the rice pharaohs also become dominate players in the slave trade . Due to this Charleston rapidly grew to facilitate rice exports and slave imports. The rice pharaohs quickly surpassed and replaced other gentry, such as those who grew sugar, due to

592-480: The area encompassing the basins of Cooper River , Santee River , ACE (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto), Winyah Bay , and Savannah River . Some include Marion and Horry Counties. Dillon County is included in the Lowcountry by the largest group of healthcare executives in the state. Allendale is also occasionally included in the region. Four counties are covered by the Lowcountry Council of Governments ,

629-407: The area has become a destination for retirees and people owning second homes. It has been developed for resorts and retirement communities. The majority-White residents have constituted a majority-Republican voter base since the late 20th century. On October 29, 2012, the county paid homage to the man for whom the county is named. It commissioned a bronze sculpture of Peter Horry, installing it inside

666-550: The bust/sculpture and the stone base. In addition to official and academic resources, local history enthusiasts have contributed to preserving Horry County’s heritage. One example is the Horry County Legacy Project, a website dedicated to documenting and sharing the county’s history. The project, available through the Horry County Museum which features articles, photographs, and other resources that highlight

703-402: The county. The population density was 237.5 inhabitants per square mile (91.7/km ). The 185,992 housing units averaged 164.0 per square mile (63.3/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 79.9% White, 13.4% Black or African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.1% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.2% of

740-406: The county’s cultural and historical development. Local historian Nicholas Gallagher has played a significant role in curating and presenting the content on this platform. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,254.73 square miles (3,249.7 km ), of which 1,133.31 square miles (2,935.3 km ) is land and 121.42 square miles (314.5 km ) (9.68%) is water. It

777-490: The early slaves to South Carolina, and made a concerted effort to outlaw further imports, especially into the hinterland, in an effort to preserve their economic dominance. Timothy Ford, a lawyer born in Trenton, New Jersey , moved to the Lowcountry in 1760 and criticized the gentry as having an "effeminate spirit of luxury and dissipation" and seemingly only cared about amusement, gambling, accumulation of wealth, and vanity. At

SECTION 20

#1733092861515

814-479: The hot subtropical climate, the Lowcountry today is known for its historic cities and communities, natural environment , cultural heritage, and tourism industry. Demographically, the Lowcountry is still heavily dominated by African American communities, such as the Gullah/Geechee people. As of the 2020 census, the population of the Lowcountry was 1,167,139. The term "Low Country" originally referred to all of

851-480: The north. The Waccamaw River , around 140 miles (230 km) long, runs through southeastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina into Horry County. The river runs through the coastal plain, along the eastern border between the two states, and into the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census , 351,029 people, 140,260 households, and 89,281 families were residing in the county. At the 2010 census , 269,291 people, 112,225 households, and 72,254 families resided in

888-580: The outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , a subgroup of Lowcountry gentry emerged to prominence, the "Rice Pharaohs" who would create generational wealth with them and their descendants dominating South Carolinian politics in an effort to preserve slavery at all costs. The center of the rice industry was based around the confluence of the Waccamaw , the Great Peedee and Black Rivers due to

925-503: The population. In terms of ancestry, 15.3% were American , 13.4% were African American (which can include other ethnicities), 13.3% were Irish , 12.8% were German , 11.3% were English , and 6.1% were Italian . Of the 112,225 households, 27.3% had children under 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 35.6% were not families, and 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size

962-636: The published luminescence ages from the sand are coincident with the last glaciation, a time when the southeastern United States had colder air temperatures and stronger winds. The area above the Sandhills is known as "Upstate" or "Upcountry". These areas are different in geology, geography, and culture. There are several variations in the geographic extent of the "Lowcountry" area. The most commonly accepted definition includes Charleston , Dorchester , Beaufort , Georgetown , Colleton , Hampton , Berkeley , Jasper , and Williamsburg Counties, often described as

999-402: The region. Gullah Geechee people have traditionally resided in the coastal areas and the sea islands of North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia and Florida —from Pender County, North Carolina , to St. Johns County, Florida . Coastal South Carolina’s half a million acres of salt marsh, which typifies the Lowcountry in particular, is underlain by plough mud or pluff mud , named for

1036-466: The relevant town or city's border. North Myrtle Beach has a Public Safety Department, which provides police and fire services in the city of North Myrtle Beach. In March 2020, Todd Cox, a former Horry County police officer, was fined $ 300 for failing to investigate reports of sex crimes against children. He and three other officers had been indicted in 2016 on charges of coercing sex and ignoring cases. Horry County used to be loyally Democratic, even by

1073-408: The rice plantations would be a series of hurricanes from 1893 to 1911 which destroyed most of the remaining estates, with their owners being unable to afford to rebuild. Their lands where mostly bought by Northerners to turn into hunting preserves, with only 70,000 acres of rice impoundments existing by 1999. The tourism industry has been a vibrant part of the region's economy since the beginning of

1110-418: The rise of the "Piedmont gentry" who began to erode the economic dominance of the rice pharaohs and Lowcounty gentry as a whole and advocated for further expansions to slavery. In order to compete with inland plantations, the Lowcountry gentry began buying land from Alabama to Texas and advocating for the reopening of the slave trade. By the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 the Lowcountry gentry sided with

1147-623: The standards of the Solid South . In 1936, Republican candidate Alf Landon did not receive a single vote in Horry County. In 1964, though, Barry Goldwater carried the county by a margin almost as large as John F. Kennedy 's 1960 margin. It has voted Republican in every election since, with the exception of supporting the third-party candidacy of Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1968 and neighboring Georgia's Jimmy Carter in 1976. While conservative Democrats continued to hold most local offices into

Sampit River - Misplaced Pages Continue

1184-606: The state capital, Columbia . Horry County (pronounced OR-ree) was created from Georgetown District in 1801. At this time, the county had an estimated population of 550. Isolated by the many rivers and swamps typical of the South Carolina Lowcountry, the area essentially was surrounded by water, forcing its inhabitants to survive without much assistance from the "outside world". This caused the county residents to become an extremely independent populace, and they named their county "The Independent Republic of Horry". The county

1221-618: The states below the Fall Line , or the Sandhills , which run the width of the states from Aiken County to Chesterfield County. The Sandhills, or Carolina Sandhills, is a 15–60 km wide region within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province, along the inland margin of this province. The Carolina Sandhills are interpreted as eolian (wind-blown) sand sheets and dunes that were mobilized episodically approximately 75,000 to 6,000 years ago. Most of

1258-603: The sugar industry's reliance on British trade with the Caribbean , making most of them loyalists during the war. By 1787 the Lowcountry gentry argued in favor of abolishing the import of any new slaves to the United States, as their own plantations where self sufficient, and their slaves reproducing. However, with Eli Whitney 's invention of the cotton gin , South Carolina permitted the import of slaves from 1803 to 1808, almost exclusively to new inland cotton plantations, which saw

1295-465: The traditional spelling of plow but now often pronounced to rhyme with rough . Once used to fertilize fields of cotton, the mud is pervaded by decaying organic matter and bacteria that feed on it, giving it a notoriously sulfurous stench. Historically the region was dominated by the Lowcountry gentry , a planter aristocracy that dominated most economic activities in the region through extensive plantations. These gentry quickly imported most of

1332-461: Was 2.37, and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 41.1 years. The median income for a household in the county was $ 43,142 and for a family was $ 51,608. Males had a median income of $ 37,351 versus $ 29,525 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 24,811. About 11.6% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 25.2% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over. Horry County has

1369-497: Was named after, and in honor of, Revolutionary War hero Peter Horry who was born in South Carolina around 1743. Horry started his military career in 1775 as one of 20 captains, elected by the Provincial Congress of South Carolina, to serve the 1st and 2nd Regiments. In 1790, he was assigned to the South Carolina militia under Brigadier General Francis Marion . The population has increased more than fourfold since 1970, as

#514485