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"C" is for Conway

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"C" is for Conway (Horry County; 2010 population 17,410). Originally named Kingston, Conway was established in 1735 on a bluff of the Waccamaw River. In 1785 it became the seat of Kingston County. In 1801 the county was renamed Horry. And, the town’s name changed to Conwayborough—for Robert Conway, a popular local politician. For two hundred years the town’s fortunes were linked to the river. The arrival of the railroad and telegraph in 1897 linked Conway to the world. Better transportation and communications—coupled with the introduction of bright-leaf tobacco—brought prosperity. In 1954 Coastal Carolina College, established as a branch of he University of South Carolina, began to play a significant role in Conway’s economy. A new campus was constructed in suburban Conway, and at century’s end, Coastal was Conway’s largest employer.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.