During the 1930's, Myrtle Beach was struggling to survive. The few businesses there were basically Seasonal. In the Summer months, affluent white families would come to the beach to operate their businesses and enjoy the beach. The maids and servants would accompany them. Although they came to the beach to toil and care for the masters, these were days of segregation and blacks were not allowed on the beach. Black slaves were called maids and men servants to "lessen" the severity of slavery. Even though they were "not" really slaves, they could not enjoy the beach the way their white employers did. The beach was legally segragated. Dogs were allowed on the beach... blacks were not. To alleviate the problem of what to do with the "hired help", the Northern 98 acres were sold to Mr George Tyson.This gave the domestics a place to frolic. Mr. Tyson was aquainted with the Spiveys in Myrtle Beach who owned this oceanfront land. The Spivey's maids stayed around the Spivey land because they really had no place to go on their days off. This hanging around, shuckin and jivin' irritated the Spivey's. They approached Mr. Tyson about about acquiring a place for the servants to go on their holidays. Mr. Tyson purchased two tracts of land from the Spiveys. It was originally called Tyson's Beach, and later one area became Atlantic Beach and the other became The Black Pearl, after the daughter of the original white owners. There were no streets or buildings, only beautiful beach. As time passed, financial turmoil arose and Mr. Tyson mortgaged The Pearl and Atlantic Beach. As difficulties continued to worsen in the 1940s, he became precariously close to losing the only foothold blacks had on the waterfront. He called upon wealthy Black people with money, education and influence. These "saviors" rallied, pooled their resources and gave birth to a strong entity called the Atlantic Beach Company.
This company consisted of approximately 10 Black educators, Doctors, Lawyers, and MorticiansThis group from the Carolinas paid off the mortgage and formed the Atlantic Beach Merchants Association, known as the Atlantic Beach Company.  The company consisted of 10 stockholders; president - Dr. J. W. Searbrooks, President of Fayetteville State College, and the Secretary - Dr. P. C. Kelly of Conway. A charter was obtained from the state to subdivide the property, and obtained land to keep the oceanfront. Due to racial segregation, it was basicaly the only area on the East Coast open to Blacks for recreational purposes. Some of the stockholders wanted to sell their property so two residents, M. Rucker and W.V. Gore began selling lots for the company which people bought to build night clubs, restaruants, hotels and other businesses. Many stockholders built homes and summer homes next to the ocean. In the 1940s Atlantic Beach was one of the main attraction for Black People.

    Officially A Town 

 In 1966 the South Carolina Secretary of State issued a municipal charter for the town of Atlantic Beach. A state commission called for the election of a mayor and Town Council. Election for these officials was held on June 14 and on June 30 the charter was granted. Atlantic Beach became an official oceanfront town for Black people. Its first mayor was Emery Gore, vice mayor M. Rucker. Council members were Dorothy Hart and Mark Simmons; Police chief Henry Hemmingway; Town Attorney, Franklin Dewitt. All town business took place in a tiny house on Ocean View Street 2nd Avenue. The Town Hall was built in between 1967 and 1969, the Fire Department in the early 1970s. Senator Strom Thurmond helped the town obtain a grant to build the Community Center, which was completed in 1975.  During World War II there were camps at Atlantic Beach as temporary housing for Black soldiers who were working to build Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.  Crodger Lewis, the first Policeman, was hired in 1953 by the Horry County Sheriff's Department. He had to provide his own transportation. Buster Brown was hired in 1953. But before there were any policemen, the people were together, watching each other's children, and taking care of each other. There no problems with drugs or crime.

Getting An Education

While segregation was one of the factors in bringing prosperity to Atlantic Beach, it has a negative effect on the efforts of Black people to gain good education. In the early days there were small one-room schools scattered in various communities such as Little River, Little River Neck, or Mt. Zion and were usually held in a church. In the 1940s and 1950s Wampee Popular Training School was the only option for Blacks. By 1947 grades only went as high as the tenth; by 1948, to the eleventh. If one wanted to get a high school diploma, one had to travel to Conway. But there was no transportation and the fortunate ones were those who could live with friends or relatives in Conway while completing their high school education.  Schools were integrated in 1964 and consolidated in 1968.

The Black Pearl

 In the mid 1940s, Atlantic Beach became widely known as a prime vacation spot, with people coming from far and near throughout the South-East.  This was the "Place to Be" for fellowship, dance, parties, communicating and enjoying each other. On summer weekends people had to park along the side of Highway 17, then a two lane road, and walk down to the Beach. Folks came in horse-drawn carriages, a few model-A cars, busses and on flat-bed trucks. These trucks would often make four or five trips, bringing people from outlying areas, then returning again and again with groups of vacationers. Opening day was Easter Monday, with official school busses bringing children for the annual school picnic from such places as Conway, Loris, Georgetown, Charleston, Dillon, Wilmington and surrounding states.  July 6th, not the 4th, was celebrated because everyone had to work on the 4th. Every Thursday was "Maids Day" when white employers would bring their workers to Atlantic Beach for a holiday.  An orange rope was anchored out in the ocean dividing North Myrtle Beach from Atlantic Beach, because Atlantic Beach bathers were not allowed across those boundaries.  Hurrican Hazel in 1954 destroyed everything on the waterfront and 1st Avenue. With no insurance, those who had developed the Beach property were discouraged and afterwards only built small beach houses. Property was sold because people wanted to get land on the water-way side where they could farm. Because of quotas on tobacco, people began to move north to New York and New Jersey, especially Atlantic City and Ocean City, NJ and to New Orleans. Then in 1973 the influx of vacationers began to drop off because of the integration of other resort locations. But before the hurricane, Atlantic Beach had become a fine resort town. Every lot was developed. Business flourished.  Gordon Hotel, Marshall hotel, Palms Motel, Gateway Inn, Scotteretta Motel, Idle Hour, Superfine Motel were among the facilities for tourists. There were several clubs and restaurants, a movie theater, two grocery stores, two liquor stores and two service stations. Mr. Ransom Rowell, Sr. owned a grocery store on Main Street and Mr. W. K. Smith owned an arcade with a grocery store and movie theater two blocks from the ocean. The Atlantic Beach Beauty Shop was on Main Street while the local Barber shop was next to the Pavilion.  Amusements and Music Bumper Cars, a Ferris Wheel, and the Merry-Go-Round were among the popular rides at the two amusement parks. Mr. Millard Ruckers's Cotton Club, the first open-air pavilion, offered space for dancing to the music of the juke box or "piccolo". Around the pavilion were stands selling hamburgers, ice-cream, lemonade, or corn and rental shops for bathing suits and towels. Mr. Jeremiah "Jerry" Alston ran sidewalk photo studios where one could get pictures developed while you waited. Alston, who had the movie theater in the arcade, took his projector during the week to show movies at schools in rural areas for people who were unable to get to Atlantic Beach. Alston also published a weekly newspaper, "The Shadow" with beach news, entertainment, and gossip.

     In 1940, Miss Sara BRwon won the first Miss Atlantic Beach contest and  parade. Happy memories include all the summers in the 1940s when nights were filled with Blues and Jazz sounds of Jam Sessions in Atlantic Beach. Big name performers including the Tams, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, the Spinners, Chuck Berry, Joe Simon, the Drifters, Martha Levan, Chubby Checker, the Dixie Cups, Otis Redding, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Percy Sledge and Geecher Robinson were booked at big Myrtle Beach hotels, but came to stay a night at Atlantic Beach. Waiters also came and from midnight until morning there was a fine sound. young men were known to have danced all night till they danced their shoes right through.

    The Seaside

The full moon in June was an especially exciting time, for that was when the giant sea turtles came, lumbering up out of the water, across the beach to  the dunes, where they would dig holes to lay dozens of eggs. The dunes were high in those days and people would sit and stand quietly and watch the turtles lay their eggs. Then they would share the eggs, gathering them in their pales. One could eat only the yolks, not the whites, but these were the only eggs people had. Each full moon at high tide, the beach would be covered with small mussels called "little people." People knew just when the "little people" would come and would be ready to rake them up. Mussels were washed clean, put into hot water to make them come out of their shells, after which they were ready to be made into delicious soup. Seafood of all kind was plentiful. From September to Thanksgiving fishing nets were cast into the ocean, then pulled in, heavy with mullet, spots, brim, flounder or crabs. Mrs. Earlene Woods recalls, "I remember my mother and a friend getting a Crocker sack, splitting it open, and each one taking an end. They would wade out in the water knee deep and catch more fish than they could carry. We lived good, close to the ocean."  Thanksgiving was feasting time as people from far and near came and prepared the meal on the beach. Everybody would bring something to contribute to the feast. It was Clam Bake time and folks would bury clams, corn etc. on beach to bake. Some caught conchs and cooked them to eat.

The Integration

During integration, black families left in droves and took their dollars with them. As they explored what other areas of South Carolina had to offer, the former "home" suffered. The places they were once prohibited from, they were now going. With the loss of black families came the loss of accompanying dollars, black population, and Atlantic Beach lost the "tar" that held it together.... its economic base. Some have returned but Atlantic Beach is still in a struggle to survive. Dont think it cannot happen in this day and age. Beach developers see that "The Historical Black Pearl" as a speedbump on the road to an all-white overdeveloped strip that encompasses the entire waterfront. That area needs to be saved and supported to give us and our children exposure to the waterfront. Many of "us" cannot afford to go to the expensive "strip". This is a chunk of history and needs to be developed and its stories echoed to our future generations. If you phase out a people's history, they have no future. We cannot sit idly by and let our monuments, momentos, cultural icons, and memoirs of our struggle be plowed under and replaced by another "Wings" store. How many inflatable rafts can people buy? You might as well give them your house keys. Dont roll over and go quietly. We have to keep a presence everywhere in the world. This means getting online. The year 2000 will see so many new ways, products, and technologies that anyone not familiar somewhat with a computer WILL be at a loss. If you see something slipping away that is of color... help preserve it. If you see an area in the world that has no influence of color... insert some. This is one reason this website is up. It is the first, but wont be my last. Enjoy it, view the links, and remember.. its just for information.. for KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.