CONWAY, SOUTH CAROLINA

'Conway' is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 11,788 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Horry County. It is the home of Coastal Carolina University. Numerous buildings and structures are on the National Register of Historic Places- including City Hall which was designed by Robert Mills who was also the architect of the Washington Monument. Since the completion of the Main Street USA project in the 1980s, Conway's downtown has been revitalized with quaint shops and bistros. Highlighting the renovation of the downtown area is the Riverwalk, an area of fine dining which follows a stretch of the historic Waccamaw River that winds through Conway.

Contents

History

Geography

Demographics

Neighborhoods

Government

Mayor

Council Members

Education

Institutes of Higher Education

High Schools

Middle Schools

Elementary Schools

Private/Religious Schools

Media

Television

Radio

Print

Transportation

Airports

Mass Transit

Railroads

Economy

Pro Sports in the Area

Famous Natives

History

Conway is one of the oldest towns in South Carolina. Originally named Kingston, the town was created in 1734 as part of Royal Governor Robert Johnson's Township Scheme. It was laid out on a riverbluff in the center of what became Horry County.

Many area residents fought in the American Revolution and small engagements were fought near Kingston at Bear Bluff and at Black Lake. Francis Marion, who was known as the "Swamp Fox", had an encampment near Kingston just across the Waccamaw River.
After the war, patriotic citizens wanted to discard the name that honored Great Britain's King George II. The County's name was changed to Horry (pronounced OR-ee) in honor of General Peter Horry in 1801 and a courthouse was established in Kingston. Kingston's name was later changed to Conwayborough for General Robert Conway. In 1883, the General Assembly changed the name to the current name of Conway.

Geography

Conway, the county seat of Horry County, is located at (33.838093, -79.056101). It is situated in the South Carolina Coastal Plain, on the western banks of the Waccamaw River, and is approximately 25 km from the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.7 km² (13.4 mi²). 32.9 km² (12.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.8 km² (0.7 mi²) of it (5.08%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,788 people, 4,259 households, and 2,942 families residing in the city. The population density was 358.1/km² (927.8/mi²). There were 4,783 housing units at an average density of 145.3/km² (376.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 55.82% White, 41.85% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.64% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.87% of the population.
There were 4,259 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.9% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 15.8% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 83.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,155, and the median income for a family was $39,189. Males had a median income of $26,720 versus $21,310 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,611. About 15.9% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.9% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods

★ Buckwood

★ Cochran

★ College Park

★ Glass Hill

★ Homewood

★ Jamestown

★ Maple

★ North Conway

★ Racepath

★ Red Hill

★ South Conway.

Government

The city is run by an elected Mayor-council government system.

Mayor

★ Gregory K. Martin

Council Members

★ Randle L. Alford, Mayor Pro Tem (2006), Vivian E. Chestnut, Irby L. Koon, Alys C. Lawson, Jean M. Timbes, Tom Anderson

Education

Institutes of Higher Education

★ Coastal Carolina University

★ Horry-Georgetown Technical College

★ North American Institute of Aviation

High Schools

★ Conway High School

Middle Schools

★ Conway Middle School

★ Whittemore Park Middle School

Elementary Schools

★ Conway Elementary School

★ Kingston Elementary School

★ Homewood Elementary School

★ Pee Dee Elementary School

★ South Conway Elementary School

★ Waccamaw Elementary School

Private/Religious Schools

★ Conway Christian School

★ A.T.C. (A Touch Of Christ) Christian School

Media

Television

★ WBTW - Channel 13/Cable 13 (CBS affiliate)

★ WPDE - Channel 15/Cable 9 (ABC affiliate)

★ WWMB - Channel 21/Cable 16 (CW affiliate)

★ WHMC - Analog 23/Digital 9 (South Carolina Educational Television Transmitter)

★ WFXB - Channel 43/Cable 7 (FOX affiliate)

Radio

'FM Stations'

★ 88.9 WKVC - Christian Contemporary ("K-Love")

★ 90.1 WHMC - Public Radio/SCETV Radio

★ 92.1 WMYB - Adult Contemporary ("Star 92.1")

★ 92.9 WEGX - Country ("The Eagle")

★ 93.9 WJXY - ESPN Radio ("The Team")

★ 94.5 WYEZ - Easy Listening ("Easy 94.5")

★ 94.9 WVCO - Rhythmic Oldies/Beach Music ("The Surf")

★ 97.7 WWXM - Top 40 ("Mix 97.7")

★ 98.5 WDAI - Urban Contemporary ("Kiss FM")

★ 99.5 WRNN - News/Talk ("Hot Talk")

★ 100.3 WSEA - Top 40 ("Hot 100")

★ 101.7 WKZQ - Rock ("Rock Radio")

★ 103.1 WYAK - Country ("K-Country")

★ 104.1 WYAV - Classic Rock ("Wave 104.1")

★ 104.9 WYNA - Hot AC ("Cool 104.9")

★ 105.9 WEZV - Easy Listening ("Easy 105.9")

★ 106.5 WYSN - Oldies ("Sunny 106.5")

★ 107.1 WQSD - Classic Rock ("The Sound")

★ 107.9 WGTR - Country ("Gator Country")
'AM Stations'

★ 1050 WIQB - ESPN Radio ("The Team")

★ 1200 WMIR - Gospel Music

★ 1330 WPJS - Gospel Music ("We Proclaim Jesus Savior")

★ 1450 WQJM - News/Talk

★ 1640 XSUR - 70s & 80s ("Surfside 1640")

Print

★ The Horry Independent - weekly newspaper

★ The Sun News - Myrtle Beach, SC daily newspaper which serves the Grand Strand area of South Carolina.

Transportation

Airports

★ Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR)

★ Conway-Horry County Airport (HYW)

Mass Transit

★ Coast RTA ^[1] - Bus system operating seven days a week, 364 days a year. 15 routes throughout the Horry County/Grand Strand area, including Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, 'Conway', Loris, and Aynor.

Railroads

★ Carolina Southern Railroad - short line railroad which serves parts of Southeastern North Carolina as well as Horry and Marion Counties in Northeastern South Carolina. Conway is located on the railroad's Chadbourn, NC-Myrtle Beach, SC branch. The historical Conway railroad depot is located along this branch. The depot is currently used by the railroad as an office building. Portions of the 1996 film , starring Mary Tyler Moore, were filmed on location at the Conway railroad depot.

Economy

Notable companies/employers located in the Conway area include:

★ AVX Corporation

★ Conbraco

★ Honeywell

★ New South Companies, Inc. (a subsidiary of Canfor)

★ Vulcan Materials Company

★ Wolverine Brass

Pro Sports in the Area

★ Myrtle Beach Thunderboltz---starts play in 07-08 season

★ Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Famous Natives

★ William Gibson, author and credited as the father of the Cyberpunk genre of science fiction, born March 17,1948.

★ Sheri Reynolds, author and associate professor of Southern literature at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.