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About the Area
City: Conway, SC
Founded: 1732
Counties Located In: Horry County
Zip Codes: 29526, 29528
Area Code: 843
Square Miles: 13.4
Elevation: 33’
Population: 20,175
Density: 927/sq. mile
Conway, the county seat of Horry County, is built on a bluff overlooking the Waccamaw River. It was named Kingston when established in 1734 as part of Royal Governor Robert Johnson's Township Scheme. Many residents fought in the American Revolution, and small engagements were fought near Kingston at Bear Bluff and at Black Lake. Francis Marion, who gained fame as the "Swamp Fox", had an encampment near Kingston just across the Waccamaw River.
After the Revolution, patriotic citizens wanted to discard the name that honored Great Britain's King George II, changing the name to "Conwayborough," honoring General Robert Conway. In 1883, the General Assembly changed the name to Conway.
As one of South Carolina’s oldest towns, a number of buildings and structures in Conway are on the National Register of Historic Places. Including City Hall building, reputedly designed by Robert Mills, architect of the Washington Monument.
Since the completion of the Main Street USA project in the 1980s, Conway's downtown has been revitalized with shops and bistros. Highlighting the renovation is the Riverwalk, an 850-foot boardwalk that invites a leisurely stroll for a scenic view of the Waccamaw’s black waters. an area of fine dining which follows a stretch of the Waccamaw River that winds through Conway.
The updated riverfront features an 850-foot boardwalk that invites a leisurely stroll for a scenic view of Waccamaw’s black waters. Or take a narrated historic tour of the Waccamaw on the Kingston Lady Riverboat, departing from the Conway Marina near the end of the Riverwalk. Canoes and pontoon boats are available for rent and offer the opportunity to slip into the Waccamaw's tributaries teaming with fish, birds, animals, and plant life.
Conway is home to two major institutes of higher learning, Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College. It is also home to a branch of Webster University, an MBA graduate school, and North American Institute of Aviation (NAIA), a flight school.