Huntington Beach State Park
Georgetown County is one of South Carolina’s timeless destinations. From the state’s seafood capital at Murrells Inlet to the harbor town that bears the county’s name, Georgetown is classic in every sense of the word. While the county was designated in 1769, the city of Georgetown was established in 1732. Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina and reminds many of Charleston on a small scale. Riverfront shopping and dining are a must and a casual stroll on the Harborwalk captures the sights and sounds of the Sampit River Harbor. There are many other communities in the county that tourists visit every year. Pawleys Island’s “arrogantly shabby” way of life takes people back to a time when the beach was casual and e-mails were nonexistent. Litchfield Beach has exploded with development in recent years while beautiful Sandy Island is still only accessible by boat. Andrews, a charming town on the shores of the Black River, is the birthplace of comedian Chris Rock. Georgetown County is filled with tales of pirates and ghosts that haunt her colonial past. As legend has it, Blackbeard has treasure still to be found here, while the legendary ghosts of Alice Flagg and the Gray Man have kept Carolina children spooked for centuries. We will delve more into the sites and history of Georgetown County in the coming months, but we thought we would share some thoughts on the county’s lone state park.
On April 6, 2009 Maxi and I had the pleasure of going to Huntington Beach State Park together for the first time. It was my first trip to Huntington, while Maxi had been with her grandfather several times. Her grandparents retired to North Myrtle Beach so the park was a short trip. I was excited about our afternoon excursion. I recall the temperature being pleasant with brisk winds whipping through the Grand Strand that day. When we arrived at the park we knew right away we were in for an adventurous spring day. Huntington Beach has many activities to please any outdoor enthusiast. Canoeing, kayaking, fishing and hiking are some of the more popular pastimes at the park. A Coastal Exploration Program lets visitors join the park staff in a journey that showcases trails, marsh and alligators. Tent and RV Camping are also permitted at Huntington Beach. After a quick trip to the visitors’ center we headed for one of the most interesting homes we’ve ever seen.
Atalaya, Spanish for watchtower, was the winter home of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington. Atalaya, completed in 1933, was constructed in a Moorish style reminiscent of Spain’s Mediterranean Coast. The Huntington’s used only local labor to build the home as the Great Depression hit Georgetown County with a vengeance. Atalaya is imposing and inviting at the same time. Inside the castle walls you will find a symmetrical courtyard dotted with large Palmettos and stone benches perfect for casual reading. Ivy grows on the walls giving it a sophisticated look. Inside the home you will see no ornate furniture, only empty rooms with information of its past grandeur. Mrs. Huntington was an internationally known sculptress that housed her main studio here. Many of her works can be found across the street at Brookgreen Gardens, an award winning sculpture garden she created in 1931.
Anna was an extraordinary talent who perfected her trade over seventy years. She was noted for several masterpieces including Joan of Arc. Mrs. Huntington was decorated by the French government for this work that commemorated the Saints 500th birthday. Her last major work was Andrew Jackson, A Boy of The Waxhaws found at Andrew Jackson State Park near Lancaster. Completed after her 91st birthday, she honored a sixth grade class’ request that a sculpture be made to celebrate their native son’s Bicentennial birthday. Archer was also extremely successful. Although he inherited a small fortune Mr. Huntington was a self made mogul. His brilliance had no boundaries. He was a scholar, poet, collector and philanthropist. After building onto his inheritance, he gave back in the humblest of fashion. He endowed museums, art collections and wildlife preserves without press conferences or newspaper clippings.
Archer and Anna Huntington were simply meant for each other. They overachieved in many ways and gave back to the communities they loved. The couple shared the same birthday and wedding anniversary of March 10, a day they referred to as “3 in 1 Day”. While the Huntington’s last resided at Atalaya in 1947 their legacy continues to impact the Grand Strand. In 1960 two thousand five hundred acres were leased to the state of South Carolina to create Huntington Beach State Park, named for the philanthropist and his brilliant wife. Atalaya was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Thousands of art enthusiasts converge on Huntington Beach in September for the Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival in and outside the castle.
After we left Atalaya we went exploring and decided to hike the Sandpiper Pond Trail. This two mile trek takes you through a wooded area straddling the salt water marsh. The marsh is a staple of low country folklore and history. Its as mysterious as the gators that lurk beneath its waters. We neared the end of the trail at an observation deck. The sign warned us of alligators, but we saw none this day. We did however see a lone egret gliding in the warmth of a spring sun. Huntington Beach is known as one of the best bird watching sites on the East Coast. Finally we reached the beach access as a finale to the trail. The beach here is peaceful and protected, just as it was a hundred years ago. The waves crash to the shore with little fanfare, only the sound that reminds people why they love the ocean in the first place. Then I looked up and saw a guy listening to an Ipod and my bliss became short lived.
On our way back we got lost and wound up hiking down a main road to get back to our car but we really didn’t seem to mind. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly on this trip to one of our state’s fascinating parks. On any trip to the Grand Strand Huntington Beach State Park is a must. Families young and old will enjoy the history, nature and mystique that surrounds one of South Carolina’s most popular state parks. It is easy to see why the Huntingtons fell in love with this sacred place so many years ago.
To find out more information about Huntington Beach State Park you may contact the park directly or go to www.southcarolinaparks.com.
16148 Ocean Hwy. Murrells Inlet, South Carolina 29576 Phone: (843) 237-4440
To see more photos of Huntington Beach and Georgetown County please visit their photo galleries.
My wife and I literally grabbed a few things, put them away in our small RV and took off from Florence on Sunday to go to “the beach”–in this case, Huntington Beach and the State Park–even though we could only stay one night. Huntington Beach has been a point of reference in our lives, beginning before there was ever a state park there: having grown up in Georgetown, we visited Huntington Beach (and the accompanying “Brookgreen Gardens”) many times. Our church used to have its annual family picnic at Atalaya. The inner courtyard is where the feast was spread and it looked very much as it did last weekend (well, today there is evidence of more intentional care!). But being part of the younger set of picnicers, we often went exploring inside “the castle” and found old rusting cots, window shutters flapping in the ocean breezes, broken windows and remnants of an old phone system used by the Huntingtons as an in-house communication system. (There was no telephone service connecting Atalaya to the outside world, even when the Huntingtons lived in the house.) My wife was one of the Girl Scouts whose troop occassionally used Atalaya for activities and events; undoubtedly the most memorable were the “camp-outs” or “sleep-overs” within the walls of this fearsome (at least, it was fearsome for these young teenaged girls!) building. After the state park opened and our own children came along, we visited Huntington Beach and used the spacious and beautiful campground. Seeing the damage caused by hurricanes Hazel (in the 1950’s) and Hugo (in the 1990’s) one would wonder if anything could ever again use the land for anything except to provide homes and feeding areas for birds and other wildlife. Without the benefit of knowing the history of this part of the Grand Strand, looking at the state park last weekend, I would not have known that after the hurricanes most of the large trees were broken off or blown over and the few things that were left in the ground and managed to keep any leaves, needles or fronds had all turned brown from being so near the blowing salt water spray. On your visit to Huntington Beach State Park, look at Atalaya, enjoy the walks on the beach and maybe wetting a hook, take a walk on some of the trails or on the boardwalk out over the salt marsh to the edge of an open creek; talk with the staff and volunteers of the Park, at Atalaya, in the Education Center and Visitor’s Center. Do what you can to make this your park, too, as I have made it mine.