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C−History
History · Murrells Inlet

Murrells Inlet’s post office opened in 1914, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns · #95 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it

Most of Murrells Inlet was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. 2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 37 buildings. Below: maps from 1943 on and the census since 2000.

1914first post office
2on the National Register
0.3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Murrells Inlet began

When was Murrells Inlet founded?

1914

The Murrells Inlet post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 5,519 in 20002020 census: 9,740112 years

How historic is Murrells Inlet?

C−

More historic than 24% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Murrells Inlet post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Murrells Inlet’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Murrells Inlet is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #95 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Murrells Inlet’s overall grade.
Founding era1914, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19400.3% of homes (±0.3) · typical SC town 3.5% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 41 historic buildings, 40.8 per 10,000 residents · typical SC town 3.2 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 24%
NewerOlder
South Carolina towns of 2,500+ (169)Ahead of 44%

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 Murrells Inlet’s 40.8 sits above most of its state (76% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). 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 Murrells Inlet’s 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 Murrells Inlet are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages15 hamlets and corners are still on the map.A historic districtThe Murrells Inlet Historic District takes in 37 historic buildings.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Murrells Inlet’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Murrells Inlet’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Old corners and places now gone

Murrells Inlet’s post office has been open since 1914.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Blue HeronCaptains CoveCarriage RunCrystal OaksEagle CrestInlet Oaks VillageLive OaksMoss CreekOak HillRichmond HillRobin HoodSunny SideWachesaw LandingWachesaw PlaceWayside Forest
Gone or out of use
Laurel Hill ChurchchurchLaurel Hill Schoolschool

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the National Register

2 listings protect 41 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
41
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Murrells Inlet Historic District
Parrish's Motor Court, built 1950Murrells Inlet Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Vernacular1
Parrish's Motor CourtBuilt 1950
All 2 listings
Murrells Inlet Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1980

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Murrells Inlet came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Murrells Inlet.

Read it all →

The land around Murrells Inlet has a record of human settlement that goes back thousands of years, before written history. Shell mounds and archeological findings from the Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River document the cultures of indigenous peoples who lived in this area. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants included the historic Waccamaw people, who took advantage of the natural resources provided by the creeks and rivers. Wachesaw is loosely translated as "Place of Great Weeping", in reference to the burial grounds. Indian burial mounds have been found along the high bluffs at Wachesaw that contained European beads, urns and other artifacts.

ChaptersHistoric landmarks

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Murrells Inlet, 1914 to 1953

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1914Post officeThe Murrells Inlet post office opens
  3. 1943On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1950BuiltParrish's Motor Court is built
  5. 1953Born hereGloria Bromell Tinubu is born here
By decade

Murrells Inlet, decade by decade

Today22 recent
Scene at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem trails, a wildlife preserve and a small zoo…2017Scene at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpt…Scene at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem trails, a wildlife preserve and a small zoo…2017Scene at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpt…A handsome horse on the Lowcountry trail. part of Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem tr…2017A handsome horse on the Lowcountry trail. part of Bro…[Mule] on the Lowcountry Trail at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem trails, a wildlife…2017[Mule] on the Lowcountry Trail at Brookgreen Gardens,…at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem trails, a wildlife preserve and a small zoo on fo…2017at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture ga…Horse on the Lowcountry Trail at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem trails, a wildlife …2017Horse on the Lowcountry Trail at Brookgreen Gardens, …The little sign at the bottom left warns of live alligators and snakes thereabouts at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast comple…2017The little sign at the bottom left warns of live alli…Mule on the Lowcountry Trail at Brookgreen Gardens, a vast complex of sculpture gardens, ecosystem trails, a wildlife p…2017Mule on the Lowcountry Trail at Brookgreen Gardens, a…Parrish's Motor Court2017Parrish's Motor CourtMurrells inlet24732017Murrells inlet2473Coastal Carolina Nightlife (Unsplash)2016Coastal Carolina Nightlife (Unsplash)Huntington Causeway2015Huntington CausewayHouses by the marsh2015Houses by the marshCauseway - panoramio (6)2015Causeway - panoramio (6)Boardwalk - panoramio (6)2015Boardwalk - panoramio (6)Boardwalk - panoramio (5)2015Boardwalk - panoramio (5)SJHSsign2012SJHSsignSJHSbuilding2012SJHSbuildingSBB in Murrell's Inlet2011SBB in Murrell's InletInlet Square Mall2011Inlet Square MallBoardwalk - panoramio (1)2008Boardwalk - panoramio (1)SCMap-doton-MurrellsInlet2004SCMap-doton-MurrellsInlet
On the map

Murrells Inlet on the map, 1943 to 1973

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

Murrells Inlet on the 1943 USGS mapMurrells Inlet on the 1973 USGS map1943Brookgreen sheet · 1:24,000

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

People over time

Murrells Inlet, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00020002020Peak: 9,740

Between 5,519 and 9,740 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Murrells Inlet’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Garden CityIts storyD−

Questions about Murrells Inlet’s history

What year was Murrells Inlet founded?

The Murrells Inlet post office opened in 1914, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Murrells Inlet rank for history?

Murrells Inlet is more historic than 24% of U.S. towns, #95 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.

What is on the National Register in Murrells Inlet?

Two places: the Parrish's Motor Court (listed 2017) and the Murrells Inlet Historic District (1980).

How old are the homes in Murrells Inlet?

0.3% of Murrells Inlet’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 2002.

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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).

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (8), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.