More historic than 4% of U.S. towns · #151 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
Most of Garden City was built recently: 0.1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Garden City is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #151 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Garden City’s overall grade.
South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Garden City’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.1 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Garden City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone
Another post office, Garden City Beach, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Garden City BeachJamestownJensensMount GileadOcean PinesOceanside VillagePirate CoveSeabreezeSeacroftWindjammer Village
Gone or out of use
Garden City Beach Post Officepost office
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The story so far
Garden City, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Garden City yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Garden City, sometimes known as Garden City Beach, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,209 at the 2010 census. Garden City Beach is located directly south of Surfside Beach. The developed part of the beach extends south beyond the limits of the Garden City CDP, into Georgetown County, and ends on a peninsula at the mouth of Murrells Inlet.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,209 to 10,235 (+11%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Garden City, 1943 to 1955
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Garden City is more historic than 4% of U.S. towns, #151 of 169 in South Carolina. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Garden City?
0.1% of Garden City’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1990.
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).
From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
