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This is a story of early Myrtle
Beach, it starts in the summer of 1933. This was during
the depression when labor was $1.00 a day and lumber was
cheap. The Pavilion was the place where young people in
formal evening wear danced each night while the older
people sat around and watched from the balcony. Everyone
stayed for long periods at Ocean Forest Hotel or the
Breakers Hotel or in beach cottages along the ocean.
Simeon Chapin loved to tell the
story that when he had his holdings appraised, he was
told he had rich farmland for livestock and timber but 9
miles of "worthless beachfront". Three men, Mr. Chapin,
Mr. Burroughs, and Mr. Bryan planned for Myrtle Beach to
grow by attracting moderately well-to-do families to
build here. Mr. Chapin loved the dunes and the higher
ground of this stretch of land between 31st and 34th
Avenue and divided it into 10 lots. He planned a road
(Ocean Boulevard) which would "bend" back from the ocean
to save the dunes and natural growth. The large lots and
much of that growth is still evident today.
The Pharr House was built in 1934
by Simeon Chapin when Ocean Boulevard ended at 31st
Avenue North. The house sits on lot #6 (150 feet wide)
of "Myrtle Heights" and it was built close to the road
in order to preserve the dune and vegetation. Within a
few years, he built the Yaupon Dunes House on lot 7 and
used the Pharr House as a guest cottage, which earned it
the nickname "Whileaway". The only other structures in
the area north of these houses were the Springs Mill
Cottage (relocated & now the Art Museum) and the Ocean
Forest Hotel (demolished in 1974).
Other families bought and quickly
built on lots adjacent to these homes and the area
suddenly became the center of summer social activity for
adults and children alike. Local residents tell stories
of children riding bikes all along the Boulevard during
the day, and the huge cocktail parties every night for
the parents.
At Mr. Chapin's death in the late
1930's, the house eventually passed to his daughter
Elizabeth Patterson. In 1958 she sold it to Bill Pharr (Pharr Yarns textile mill) who retain it today.
The same family also owns the
Robertson House (built
in 1932 & purchased in 1989) and
Yaupon Dunes (built in
1934 & purchased in 2009) which is
located on either side of the Pharr
House.
While visiting the Pharr House be
sure to notice all of the old photographs of early
Myrtle Beach in the living room. This room also features
an oversized hearth and mantel, along with a panoramic
view of the ocean. Upstairs you will find louver doors
on all of the bedrooms, a characteristic of early beach
cottages when ventilation and circulation was dependent
on beach breezes for cooling the house during the hot
summer months. |
