The Horry County Museum presents a lecture by Eric Emerson on Saturday, July 25th at 1 PM, on the history of the South Carolina state flag.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, but it also marks the origins of South Carolina's state flag. Although our state has had a number of flags, only two have been approved by the General Assembly. The second of these was created by A.S. Salley, the first Secretary of the South Carolina History Commission (now known as the South Carolina Department of Archives & History), with help from Clemson College and a little-known friend in Charleston. In this lecture, Dr. Emerson will recount the Revolutionary War origins of our flag and explain how Salley convinced the General Assembly to task him with re-creating the state's first official flag. His design would be the forerunner of today’s banner, the nation’s second most popular state flag.
Dr. Emerson is the sixth director of the South Carolina Department of Archives & History (SCDAH). He also serves as State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and State Archivist. He received his Bachelors of Arts in History from the University of North Carolina – Charlotte and his masters and doctorate in History from the University of Alabama. Prior to coming to SCDAH in 2009, he served as the executive director of the Charleston Library Society and the South Carolina Historical Society.
The program will be held in the McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street, Conway SC. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 843-915-5320 or email hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov. To view a full list of programs, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org.

The 2026 Horry County Museum Documentary Film Series continues with Pirates of the Carolinas. Part of the Carolina Stories Series by SCETV, this hour-long film digs up the true tales of treachery and villainy that occurred off the coasts of North and South Carolina during the Golden Age of Piracy.
The film is free to the public and will be shown at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, July 29th, at the Horry County Museum, located at 805 Main Street in Conway.
The Horry County Museum Documentary Film Matinees will continue throughout 2026. For a list of films, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org. For more information, call the Horry County Museum at 843-915-5320 or e-mail hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.

See history come to life at the L.W. Paul Living History Farm! The Farm will host its annual Tobacco Heritage Day on Saturday, August 1st from 9 AM-Noon. For much of the 20th century, tobacco was the main cash crop for Horry County and the Pee Dee Region and provided an income for many farm families in the area. During the late summer, leaves were gathered and taken to the barn to be strung and cured. This process required participation from all family members, down to young children, whose job would be to hand the tobacco leaves to a stringer. Demonstrations will include gathering, hand tying and stringing tobacco, cooking on the wood burning stove, and a variety of other farm activities.
The L.W. Paul Living History Farm is located at the corner of Hwy 701 North and Harris Short Cut Road in Conway, SC. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the L.W. Paul Living History Farm at 843-915-5321 or email the Horry County Museum at hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov. For a full list of programs, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org.

The 2026 Horry County Museum Documentary Film Series continues with a documentary by South Carolina ETV on inductees from the Colonial Era into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. Established in 1973, The South Carolina Hall of Fame, located in Myrtle Beach, inducts one deceased and one contemporary honoree each year. It is by law the “official” Hall of Fame for South Carolina. There are nearly 100 members of the South Carolina Hall of Fame, each of whom has made outstanding contributions to South Carolina’s heritage, history, and progress.
Biographies of Colonial Era inductees include King Hagler, Eliza Pinckney, Henry Laurens, Thomas Lynch, Sr., William Henry Drayton, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton, and Edward Rutledge.
The film is free to the public and will be shown at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, August 5th, at the Horry County Museum, located at 805 Main Street in Conway.
The Horry County Museum Documentary Film Matinees will continue throughout 2026. For a list of films, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org. For more information, call the Horry County Museum at 843-915-5320 or e-mail hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.

The Horry County Museum presents a program by Steven Smith on his new book The Battles of Fort Watson & Fort Motte, 1781 on Saturday, August 8th at 1:00 PM. In his book, Smith relates the history of four critical weeks from April 12 until May 12, 1781, in which the tide […]

The 2026 Horry County Museum Documentary Film Series continues with The Battle of Camden, part of the Carolina Stories Series from ETV. In this film, Revolutionary War re-enactors help tell the story of this crucial event in American history, one of the worst American battle defeats in the Revolution. From new guerilla tactics employed by American militia to the actions of an over-confident king, the tragic events that transpired on August 16, 1780 became the catalyst that led to the birth of a nation.
The film is free to the public and will be shown at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, August 12th, at the Horry County Museum, located at 805 Main Street in Conway.
The Horry County Museum Documentary Film Matinees will continue throughout 2026. For a list of films, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org. For more information, call the Horry County Museum at 843-915-5320 or e-mail hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.

The Horry County Museum presents a free traditional bluegrass concert by The End of the Road Bluegrass Band on Saturday, August 15th at 1:00 PM. The End of the Road Bluegrass Band is a regional band based out of Conway, South Carolina. Formed in 2001, the band plays traditional bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music. They have performed in several venues and churches, including a monthly concert series held by the Rivertown Bluegrass Society and the Southeastern Bluegrass Association of SC. The band also performed at the first annual Sea Mountain Fiddlers Convention and Bluegrass Festival where they shared the stage with such bands as Alan Bibey & Grasstowne, Carolina Blue, and The Virginia Luthiers. Band members include Joe Hudson on guitar/vocals, Ron Mew on mandolin/vocals, Blake Marlowe on banjo/vocals, and Stephanie Sullivan on fiddle.
The concert will be held in the Museum’s McCown Auditorium located at 805 Main Street, Conway, S.C. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 843-915-5320 or email hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov. For more information about our programs, visit the museum website at www.horrycountymuseum.org.

The 2026 Horry County Museum Documentary Film Series continues with Men of Honor: Freddie Stowers & Alvin York. This film follows the stories of two Medal of Honor recipients from World War I, Freddie Stowers, and Alvin York. Stowers, a native of South Carolina, was a corporal and squad leader who was killed in action while leading an assault that helped to break the German line in northern France. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 1991, and became the first African American soldier to receive the award in World War I. Also, a corporal in the US Army, Alvin York went from being a conscientious objector to war hero when he captured more than one hundred German prisoners of war in combat.
The film is free to the public and will be shown at 1:00 PM, Wednesday, August 19th, at the Horry County Museum, located at 805 Main Street in Conway.
The Horry County Museum Documentary Film Matinees will continue throughout 2026. For a list of films, visit our website at www.horrycountymuseum.org. For more information, call the Horry County Museum at 843-915-5320 or e-mail hcg.museum@horrycountysc.gov.