The Independent Republic: How Horry County was given its nickname (2024)

An independent streak? Perhaps. A name to be proud of? Rightfully so.

Longtime Horry County folks know why the county’s nickname is more than just a nickname, and it does not take long for newcomers to learn of the county’s independent nature.

The "Independent Republic" is a nickname known to Horry County for nearly 200 years, encompassing a spirit of isolation and self-reliance still found in local political debates.

Commonly, the nickname is used to invoke a sense of pride for all Horry County has accomplished without the help of South Carolina. To some, the name also reflects an independent spirit upheld by generations of citizens feeling disconnected from the rest of the state by the Little Pee Dee River.

“We stand on our own and we stand alone in many cases. We take care of our own roads, we take care of our own businesses,” Horry County Council Member Johnny Vaught said. “It’s part of the reason I wanted to be on county council.”

While the nickname became an integral part of Horry County’s identity and has taken on new meanings over the years, its origins can be traced back to an erroneous claim made in the 19th century.

Coastal Carolina University archivist Ben Burroughs, director of the Horry County Archives Center, researched the origins of the nickname years ago, tracing it back to a political dispute in 1832 between two state senators, Robert Barnwell Rhett and Benjamin Gause, neither of whom were representing the Horry District.

“It was all a misdirected slur,” Burroughs said.

‘Damned Independent Republic’

During the time period of the 1830s, the counties of South Carolina were called districts, and it wasn’t until after the Civil War that they were called counties.

Rhett, from Beaufort District, was a radically pro-slavery senator that Burroughs said was co*cky, stubborn and a “fire eater.” Gause was once a state senator from Horry District, but moved to Marion District where he also acted as that area's representative to the statehouse.

Burroughs said during one debate, Rhett couldn’t manage to get Gause to support his cause. Burroughs doesn’t remember the exact reason they were debating, but the records showed Rhett was getting frustrated that Gause, a Marion District senator at the time, wouldn’t agree with Rhett.

Rhett, not realizing Gause had moved to a new district, said SC didn’t need Horry’s help anyways. While the historical records don’t show exactly what words were used, Burroughs said Rhett implied the state would be better off if Horry formed its own republic.

“We will make the Little Pee Dee River the border and we will let you have your damned independent republic,” is approximately what Rhett would’ve said, according to Burroughs.

Vaught said now the county would have been just fine if Rhett followed through with his threat to cut Horry off from the rest of the state back in 1832.

“That would’ve suited us fine,” Vaught said.

Burroughs said Gause didn’t take offense to Rhett’s comments, rather he found them funny and included them in a letter to his friend, Horry District Judge James Beaty.

Beaty then shared the news with those living in the county seat.

“The story started spreading. I can just see the story coming back to Conwayborough and being told at a tavern and people just laughing at Rhett because he couldn’t get his way,” Burroughs said.

At the time, the county seat was called Conwayborough. The name didn’t get shortened to Conway until 1883, according to Conway’s website.

Beaty would go on to become the sheriff of Horry District, which had great power over local affairs.

Burroughs said people eventually started joking that Beaty was the “King of the Independent Republic of Horry.”

Rhett’s erroneous attack on Gause is the earliest moment Burroughs can find of the nickname being used, adding that the origin story is different from how many Horry County residents were taught the name originated.

“The slur had to do with political independence, not economical or social independence,” Burroughs said. “It was all about politics.”

An Independent Republic

The nickname has lived on for almost 200 years now, despite all the changes that have happened in Horry County, including the foundation of Myrtle Beach as a tourist destination and the county becoming one of the fastest growing regions in the country.

A key reason the nickname has stuck around, however, is because many textbooks teach the story of Horry County as an independent, isolated area from the rest of the state, Burroughs said.

Vaught, a native of Horry County, said he first learned the nickname in school while studying South Carolina history. He was taught that the Little Pee Dee River was hard to cross and kept Horry County separated from the rest of SC.

“Basically, we developed an independent streak of having to take care of ourselves,” Vaught said. “We’ve done our own thing and it’s carried through.”

To Burroughs, the political origin story of the “Independent Republic” nickname pushes back against the idea that Horry County was isolated from the rest of the world. He said the rivers allowed ships from all over the globe to come into the area.

He also cited letters written during the Civil War by Horry Distict leaders citing how disruptive the Union’s blockade was to food and other supply shipments.

“You can look in the history books and it says ‘Horry County was isolated by water.’ Water doesn’t isolate you; it connects you if you have boats,” Burroughs said.

County Council Member Paul Prince, the longest serving member of the council, said he has heard the nickname used his whole life. To him it means Horry County is willing to stand up for itself even if the rest of the state doesn’t agree.

“What I’ve gathered is us in Horry have to do things in ways that aren’t suitable for other areas of South Carolina,” Prince said.

Vaught said the RIDE projects — an Horry County initiative to improve infrastructure in the area — is proof that the area still treats itself like an Independent Republic when the state and federal government don’t step in to help.

“They didn’t have to do a RIDE program in Charleston to get 526 built,” Vaught said. “If they’re not going to help us, we are going to do it ourselves.”

Register of DeedsMarion Foxworth, a Myrtle Beach native, has pride in the nickname, adding that Horry County leaders have run the county the way they saw fit no matter what others in SC had to say.

While some may try to insult the area for being different from the rest of the state, like Rhett did 200 years ago, Foxworth sees it as a good thing.

“Instead of an insult, we took it as a compliment,” he said of the coined nickname. “In true Southern fashion, we put it on the front porch. We do have an independent streak. We tend to do things our way. And if you don’t like it, we don’t care.”

Foxworth’s business cards still have the old county logo that said “the Independent Republic of Horry” instead of the latest motto that says “committed to excellence.”

“I’m right proud of the county motto,” he said. “It was here long before I was.”