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History · Briarcliffe Acres

Half of Briarcliffe Acres’ homes were built after 1977

Most of Briarcliffe Acres was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1986 on and the census since 1980.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Briarcliffe Acres’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Briarcliffe Acres are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Briarcliffe Acres’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Briarcliffe Acres’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Briarcliffe Acres came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Briarcliffe Acres.

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Briarcliffe Acres was developed as a retirement community by Kenneth Ellsworth, a native of Briarcliff Manor, New York (from which he took the name of his project), who married Virginia (Ginny) Gasque (pronounced "gas-kwee" or, by some, "gas-kee"). Her family came from the nearby town of Conway, South Carolina. Briarcliffe was one of the first planned communities in the Southeast.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Briarcliffe Acres on the map, 1986 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Briarcliffe Acres. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Briarcliffe Acres on the 1986 USGS mapBriarcliffe Acres on the 1990 USGS map1986Myrtle Beach sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Briarcliffe Acres.

People over time

Briarcliffe Acres, census by census

0100200300400500600198020002020Peak: 552

Between 338 and 552 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Briarcliffe Acres’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Briarcliffe Acres

Nobody well known was born in Briarcliffe Acres itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

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William GibsonAmerican-Canadian speculative fiction writer · b. 1948
Madison IsemanAmerican actress · b. 1997
Scott BessentUnited States Secretary of the Treasury · b. 1962
Ramon SessionsAmerican basketball player · b. 1986
Kiera CassAmerican writer of young-adult speculative fict… · b. 1981
Shane CarruthFilm producer, actor, screenwriter · b. 1972
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

North Myrtle BeachIts storyD−

Questions about Briarcliffe Acres’ history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.