The Steamboat Era on the Waccamaw River

The Steamboat Era on the Waccamaw River. . The Waccamaw, Great Pee Dee, Little Pee Dee and Little Rivers have all served as important transportation routes for Horry County. For Native Americans and early settlers alike, the rivers of our area were essentially the equivalent of the interstate highways of today. We were fortunate to have had the rivers, as they provided "out-of-the-way" Horry County with easy access to the world beyond. , , [ Timeline ] , 1860 , First steamboat on Waccamaw River near Conwayborough is a Confederate troop ship, the Francis Marion , , ca. 1880 , Burroughs and Collins Co. purchases its first of many steamboats, the Juniper , , ca. 1880 , A steamboat terminal is built at Conwayborough Wharf , , ca. 1896 , Burroughs and Collins Co. establishes the Waccamaw Line of Steamers in Conway , , ca. 1898 , The flagship of the Waccamaw Line of Steamers, the F.G. Burroughs, makes her maiden voyage , , ca. 1919 , The era of steamboats on the Waccamaw fades with the sale of the WLS , (captions) , The Government Shipyard was located in Conway at the junction of the Waccamaw River and Kingston Lake. Photograph dated circa 1880. , , The Comanche was the last steamboat to make regular runs from Georgetown to Conway. The schedule was discontinued in the 1920s. , , The Mitchelle C. launched in 1905, was the last of the steamboats built in Conway. , , The F.G. Burroughs and the Ruth docked at Bucksport. , , The side-wheel steamboat F.G. Burroughs was 125 ft. long. She was licensed to carry 130 passengers and could carry 150 tons of freight. , , Passengers aboard the F.G. Burroughs and the Mitchelle C.