Soon after being crowned the monarch of England, King Charles II ordered the governors of the American Colonies to build a road connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina. Beginning in 1673, it took until 1735 for the road to be passable by wagon. It will surprise no one in Horry and Georgetown counties to learn that the road from Wilmington, North Carolina to Charleston was noted as the “most tedious and disagreeable of any on the Continent.” Crossing multiple rivers via ferries and large stretches of low swampland would have been very difficult for early travelers. By 1750, the road had been expanded as far north as Maine and as far south as Savannah, Georgia.
In our area, Highway 17 is split into two different roads: Business and Bypass. The original road is Hwy 17 Business which hugs the coast and is close to the original road dating back to colonial days. With the growth of the area with hotels, restaurants, businesses and all of the tourists that come with those things, Highway 17 Bypass was created. Near Grande Dunes, Highway 17 splits with Business staying close to the coast and 17 Bypass going further west through the area and reconnecting in Murrells Inlet just before Brookgreen Gardens and Huntington State Park. With the growth of the area, Hwy 17 Bypass is honestly not much of a bypass anymore which led to Hwy 31 being created even further west to avoid traffic. Interesting note, when highway 17 was being paved, developer John T. Woodside paid to have the road routed around his hunting preserve, which is now Briarcliffe.
As a native, I love learning more about area. If you have something you’d like to share, please reach out to me! If you would like to learn more about our area, please let us know. We’re here to help!
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