Pine Island, South Carolina

Pine Island is an unincorporated community in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. Its coordinates are 33.76126 latitude and -78.91858 longitude. It is located 4 miles away from Myrtle Beach and 11 miles away from Conway. It is made of about 30 buildings, two churches, and one cemetery.

History

Early years

Pine Island was begun as an experimental farm in 1900, when the train to Myrtle Beach had been chartered from Conway to Pine Island. The train would eventually run to Myrtle Beach, but that would not be completed until a year later.

A store was built in the area, which provided feed for animals, fresh meat, and eggs. A lumber mill was built, which would provide wood for Myrtle Beach's first buildings, including the Seaside Inn, Myrtle Beach's first hotel.

The original purchase of Pine Island was made by Mr. Gant, and farming was begun in the area. It was an experimental farm for efficiency, and Mr. Gant was an efficiency expert. He believed that the farm should run like a factory. The farm was laid off in tracts, and records were kept. The experiment failed.

Big Swamp School, one of the community schools located on the road from Pine Island to Socastee, was located outside of the area.

Present

Currently, Pine Island has grown, as a new neighborhood built by Habitat for Humanity, called Village of Dreams. Three industrial plants have been built, including a paving company, Boggs Paving, Inc., which caused controversy in 2002.