“A” is for Atlantic Beach. [Horry County; population 351]. A historically black beach community, Atlantic Beach is located fifteen miles north of Myrtle Beach. Atlantic Beach flourished during the 1940s and 1950s as one of the few places on the East Coast where black families could enjoy beach vacations during the era of segregation. In the 1930s, developer George Tyson purchased two tracts of ocean front that would become Atlantic Beach.Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed many oceanfront homes and hotels, most of which were not rebuilt due to lack of insurance. Integration in the 1960s began a decline in the community’s popularity, as black families by then had more choices for enjoying the Atlantic Ocean. Today, most of the property remains in the hands of African Americans and Atlantic Beach is known as the “Black Pearl of the Grand Strand.”
