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HOA Management in Murrells Inlet, SC

Located just south of Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach, the village of Murrells Inlet offers a much quieter and slower paced lifestyle.

PROPOSAL REQUEST

With a population of just over 9,000, and with beautiful weather year-round, Murrells Inlet has become increasingly popular among retirees in recent years. Regardless of whether your community is geared toward retirees or young families, William Douglas Property Management offers solutions and expertise tailored to your homeowners. Please contact us today to learn how our HOA Management can benefit your residents.

Murrells Inlet, S.C. Facts & Information

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, is an unincorporated area around twelve miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Murrells Inlet is located in the far northeast corner of Georgetown County on the Atlantic Ocean. While Murrells Inlet is unincorporated, the United States Census Bureau categorizes the Murrells Inlet area as a census-designated place or a CDP. Being a census-designated place and not incorporated, there are no legally formed or identified borders other than what the United States Census Bureau has set forth.  

The census-designated place for Murrells Inlet, as set forth by the United States Census Bureau, has a total area of 7.36 square miles. This total area or community set forth as the census-designated place may or may not be consistent with the local resident’s perception of the area or community defined by the United States Census Bureau. What goes into establishing a census-designated place by the United States Census Bureau depends on different considerations. However, in most cases, they are established because of population concentrations, such as what is found within the Murrells Inlet census-designated place.  

Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated area within Georgetown County. Georgetown County was established in 1769. The county was named for England’s King George. The county has gone through different size configurations through the years; However, the current total area is 1,035 square miles. The county seat is the City of Georgetown. Georgetown County is abutted on the northeast by Horry County, Marion County on the north, Williamsburg County on the northwest, Berkeley County on the west, and Charleston County on the southwest.

A Brief Historic Overview of Murrells Inlet

As evidenced by archeological findings, Native Americans have inhabited the region around Murrells Inlet for over 10,000 years. The Waccamaw Indians were the first Native Americans documented by Europeans in the Murrells Inlet area. The Waccamaw Indians lived along the banks of the Waccamaw Rivers and its tributaries. By all indications, the future Murrells Inlet had abundant fish and other game that provided the Waccamaw people a steady diet, as supported by archeological findings. Shells mounds and other indicators of food preparation have been discovered, demonstrating an advanced civilization. Wachesaw, and are within Murrells Inlet, has been loosely translated to mean “Place of Great Weeping.” This is in reference to the Indian burial grounds and the Indian burial mounds that have been identified on the high bluffs at Wachesaw. These burial mounds have been found to contain urns, pottery, beads of European origin, and other Native American artifacts.

European history begins in the future Murrells Inlet with the land grants of the Lord’s Proprietors. To encourage the colony’s development, large land grants were given. The Waccamaw River area was desirable because of the fertile soil found along the riverbanks. These land grants began along the coast and reached back to the Waccamaw River. The land grants were typically developed into plantations of 500 to 1,500 acres. 

The future Murrell Inlet plantations were much more successful than the plantations or attempts at farming to the north in the future Myrtle Beach. This was on account of the poor soil conditions found there and the relatively good soil conditions found in the future Murrells Inlet. Some of the well-known plantations of Murrells Inlet included Laurel Hill, Richmond Hill, Springfield, Wachesaw, Brookgreen, and The Oaks. 

Robert Daniel received the first land grant in 1711, and he sold his land to speculators. The first planters arrived in the 1730s and began establishing farms that developed into plantations. Captain John Murrell purchased 2,340 acres. He died in 1771, leaving his land to his son and two daughters. It was ultimately divided; one parcel became Wachesaw Plantation and the other parcel became Richmond Hill Plantation. 

Allard Belin acquired Wachesaw Plantation sometime around 1800. Richmond Hill was kept in the Murrell family until it was acquired by an Allston (it is believed it was John Hayes Allston, a rice planting pioneer who developed a technique utilizing clay). Indigo was the primary crop in the 1700s. In the 1800s, rice cultivation became the primary crop. 

Rice plantations prospered during the late 1700s and 1800s until the end of the American Civil War. During the American Revolution, the planters in the future Murrells Inlet were, for the most part, Patriots. Planter William Allston served as a captain under his brother-in-law General Francis Marion.

The rice planters were wealthy and influential in South Carolina society and politics. However, that influence dwindled drastically after the American Civil War. This was primarily due to the labor-intensive nature of rice farming and the emancipation of the slaves. Environmental events also played a major role in the decline of rice plantations, with a series of devastating hurricanes that destroyed rice fields and dikes in the future Murrells Inlet. 

Samuel Sidney Fraser, a real estate speculator, bought and sold plantations after the Civil War in Murrells Inlet. Clarke A. Willcox acquired Wachesaw Plantation and the Hermitage Plantation in 1910 for $10,000 to use as summer retreats. The Hermitage stayed in the Willcox family; However, they sold the Wachesaw Plantation in 1930 to William A. Kimbel. Kimbel bought Richmond Hill Plantation to develop a hunting estate. Kimbel’s purchase of both Wachesaw Plantation and Richmond Hill Plantation once again combined Captain John Murrell’s original land holdings of plantation of the 1730s.

Dr. Julius A. Mood of Sumter, South Carolina, and a group of sportsmen bought Brookgreen, Springfield, Laurel Hill, and The Oaks to use as a hunting preserve in 1920. Mood’s daughter, Julia Mood Peterkin, made visits to Brookgreen and used the preserve as the backdrop for some of her novels. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Scarlet Sister Mary in 1928. After various other owners, railroad mogul Archer Milton Huntington acquired Brookgreen in 1930. He and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington, were going to utilize Brookgreen as a winter haven. They eventually decided to use the plantation as an outdoor art gallery for Mrs. Huntington’s sculptures. 

Murrells Inlet slowly developed into a fishing settlement in the first part of the 20th century. In the last fifty years, it has slowly transitioned to a tourist and retirement mecca like much of the rest of the Myrtle Beach area. A very popular tourist attraction is the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk, a 1⁄2-mile-long boardwalk overlooking a salt marsh, and the many restaurants along the boardwalk. 

Murrells Inlet Data and other Interesting Facts

Murrells Inlet’s population, per the 2020 United States Census, was calculated to be 9,740. The 2010 population for Murrells Inlet was determined to be 7,547, per the 2020 United States Census. This was a population increase of 29.08 percent between the 2010 United States Census and the 2020 United States Census. 

Per Google Earth Location or Coordinates of Murrells Inlet – Latitude: 33°33′03.65″ N, Longitude: 79°02′29.14″ W

Murrells Inlet’s Elevation above sea level is 5 feet per Google Earth for the coordinates noted above.

Per the United States Census Bureau, as of 2012, Murrells Inlet had 1,216 total businesses or firms within the census-designated place.  

As of 2010, the land area of Murrells Inlet, per the United States Census Bureau, was 7.36 square miles.  

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