A man of great vision, F.G. Burroughs, was far-sighted enough to dream that one day the beaches of the Grand Strand would grow to a resort destination for vacationers all along the east coast. After serving in the Civil War, Burroughs returned to Conway and formed a partnership with Benjamin G. Collins, a native of Georgetown County who worked his way up from driving wagons to managing the company’s accounts. Together they expanded the company’s commercial interests into timber farm credit, consumer goods, river boats and eventually the first railways through the swamps to the beaches of the Grand Strand.

Burroughs died in 1897 but left his sons to carry out his dream. Collins and Burroughs’ sons built the first oceanfront hotel in Myrtle Beach in 1901, called Seaside Inn. This development would be the first of numerous landmarks to follow.

In 1912 the Burroughs’ sons joined partnership with Simeon B. Chapin, the son of a prominent Chicago merchant, to form the Myrtle Beach Farms Company. Chapin’s financial resources and business experience, combined with the Burroughs’ sons vast real estate holdings, made way for an expansion of growth for the company.

In 1990, Myrtle Beach Farms Company joined with Conway-based Burroughs and Collins Company to form Burroughs & Chapin Company, Inc., with holdings of tens of thousands of acres throughout Horry County. The Company has grown into a leadership role in many diverse industries, including entertainment, retail development, property leasing, golf courses, timberland, farms, and all areas of real estate development.

The founders of Burroughs & Chapin would be proud to see the remarkable extent to which their original vision has been fulfilled.