Event- The Myrtle Beach Classic and the Singleton Swash Saltworks

The saltworks at Singleton Swash- Salt was a profitable item to manufacture during the war. The price varied but was generally about four to six dollars per bushel. The Singleton Swash was large and made up of four separate works. Each work contained 12 large pans. The water was raised from the beach by horsepower, leading into a cistern large enough to contain 100,000 gallons, built of timber, planked and caulked on the inside. It included about thirty buildings, three of them large warehouses built of heavy logs, containing about two thousand bushels of salt and large quantities of rice, corn, and bacon. Peter Vaught, whose family owned property in the Windy Hill area, built and operated the saltworks at Singleton Swash during the war. The Civil War era report of I.A. Pennell Acting Master of the Union destruction of the saltworks appears below from the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies. What is referred to as Cane Patch is actually Singleton Swash. The report makes mention that one of the buildings was a blockhouse with loopholes on all sides to protect the works.

**A salt kettle at the Horry County Musuem**

The small tidewater lagoon on the eleventh fairway of the Dunes Golf and Beach Club (9000 North Ocean Boulevard, Myrtle Beach) is thought to be the site of the large saltwater storage tank for the saltworks. C.B. Berry wrote in 1968 “Golfers today, playing on the Dunes Club at Myrtle Beach, often drive their balls across a small round tidewater lagoon on Fairway No. 11. There is much evidence to indicate that this lagoon was once the site of a large saltwater storage tank for a salt works that Peter Vaught was once interested in. Nearby, along the banks of the Singleton Swash marsh, one can still see outcroppings of old brick-work which might have been the foundation and furnaces for the cast iron salt evaporating pans.” That description was written in 1968 and it is possible they no longer exist. I have also included images of C.B. Berry’s article in their entirety in the sources at the end with a link to the source as well. The Dune’s Club is very difficult to access as it is for members and their guests only. It’s the highest rated golf course in Myrtle Beach. I was able to access the course during the Myrtle Beach Classic held from May 9-12, 2024.

**The 11th hole is in the center of this google earth image**. **It is known as the “Salt Marsh”.**

**The small red “L” marks what I believe to be the lagoon** **that Berry is** **referring to that acted as the cistern or storage tank for the salt works.**

Singleton Swash is to the immediate right on entering the course. The next two images are looking toward the ocean.

The next two images show the swash as it winds its way into the golf course.

Staying to the right leads to a walkway to the 10th hole and the sign below.

They aren’t kidding. First time I have ever seen an alligator in person.

Looking across the 11th fairway below. You cannot access the side of the hole that borders the marsh.

The image below was taken from the shortest tee box. The lagoon, the site of the saltwater storage tank for the saltworks, is visible just below the center. You can see some rocks along the side of the lagoon in the images below, but this does not appear to be a Civil War-era structure.

The next three images show the lagoon at low tide

The next two images show the lagoon at high tide.

**Looking back toward the ocean where the swash enters the lagoon**

**Left side of the lagoon with the 11th green in the distance with a bunker on each side**

**Closer view of the rock wall of the lagoon.**

The next two images show the marsh between the hole and housing structures closer to the beach, which are outside the property

Stones along the junction of the fairway and the marsh are shown below

I was able to take some very good pictures of the 11th hole, albeit given the restrictions of a PGA tour event. At a PGA tour event you are not allowed to use a 35 mm camera and have to rely on your cell phone to take pictures. There were no visible brick structures along the marsh side of the fairway. It is possible that they could be hidden from view in marsh grass. LiDAR imaging in the Buck Island Swamp area is very difficult. I could see a slight abnormality on the far side of the lagoon in the area of the image below but there is no brick structure that I can see.

The 11th hole also played an important role in the history of the Dunes Golf Club. It was in an old fishing cabin called Chapin Cabin, located in the area of the 11th tee box, that a meeting was held in October of 1948. Men and women met here for a barbecue and to discuss forming and building the golf club.