Georgetown: The Rice Plantation Coast an Hour South

Third-oldest city in South Carolina, an hour south. The Georgetown Harborwalk runs along the Sampit River past shrimp boats and a working steel mill — a waterfront that hasn't been condoed because Georgetown isn't that kind of town.

The rice plantation history is the draw and the weight. Lowcountry rice made Georgetown County the wealthiest in the colonies by the 1840s — built entirely on enslaved labor. The technology (tidal irrigation, trunk gates, rice cultivation expertise) was brought from West Africa by the enslaved people themselves. The Rice Museum in the Old Market Building tells this without flinching. Hobcaw Barony — 16,000-acre research reserve — offers guided tours through former rice fields that hold beauty and brutality in the same soil.

US-17 south from Myrtle passes through Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island, both worth a stop. Georgetown's Front Street has a three-block historic district. Budget a full day with a plantation tour. The history is heavy and deserves the time.