Surfside Beach, South Carolina Facts for Kids

Surfside Beach is a town in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. Its nickname is "The Family Beach". The population was 3,837 at the 2010 census, down from 4,425 in 2000. It is considered a part of the Grand Strand.

Geography
History
Demographics
- 2020 census
Transportation
- Major roads and highways
Education
See also

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau Surfside Beach has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.1 km²), of which, 1.9 square miles (5.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.02%) is water.

History

Surfside Beach was first incorporated in 1964 with 881 residents. It was previously known as Roach's Beach and had only a few buildings surviving the hurricane of 1893. Principal industries were lumber and feed farming for the 30 or so horses and mules in the area. The new owner, Mr. George J. Holiday, renamed the area Floral Beach for his wife, Flora, and daughter, Floramay. In the late 1920s, a group from Columbia purchased and partially developed the land. In 1952, most of the land changed hands again and became known as Surfside Beach. The undeveloped beach area was covered with sand dunes; a one-lane sandy road led from the highway to a quiet beach.

Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed 18 of the beach's 65 houses, but did not dampen the spirit of the developers. Lots were cleared, the sand was leveled, topsoil was brought in and T. J. Harrison, who later became the town's first mayor, opened the first grocery store in 1956 for the six permanent families and summer residents. Significant expansion did not occur until after 1956 when Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was reactivated. By 1964, its reputation as a family beach was further established and the town was becoming a popular place to retire. The new town government increased police protection, mosquito and sanitation control, and street lights and zoning ordinances resulted in increased property values. Public parking and walkways to the beach were established, and government offices were constructed. Within the next few years, the town continued to grow through annexation. Improvements were made to streets and water lines and business and residential building boomed. Surfside Beach, as well as the rest of the Grand Strand, became one of the fastest growing parts of the country.

Surfside Beach adopted a public-places smoking ban which took effect October 1, 2007. Surfside Beach is the first town in Horry County to enact such a ban, and one of only a handful in South Carolina at the time.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1970	1,329	—
1980	2,522	89.8%
1990	3,845	52.5%
2000	4,425	15.1%
2010	3,837	−13.3%
2019 (est.)	4,525	17.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

2020 census

Surfside Beach racial composition
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	3,822	91.99%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	46	1.11%
Native American	15	0.36%
Asian	21	0.51%
Pacific Islander	9	0.22%
Other/Mixed	146	3.51%
Hispanic or Latino	96	2.31%