This image is the cover for the book Hidden History of the Grand Strand, Hidden History

Hidden History of the Grand Strand, Hidden History

Join author Dr. Rick Simmons as he recalls the hidden history and legends of The Grand Strand in South Carolina.


Though today South Carolina's Grand Strand is known primarily for tourism, Hidden History of the Grand Strand examines the area's often-overlooked stories spanning more than five hundred years, from the lost Spanish flagship Capitana in 1526 to the German U-boats that reportedly roamed the Intracoastal Waterway with the help of local collaborators during World War II. Along the way, learn about the hidden history of the now-vanished villages of La Grange and Lafayette, the great canal on North Island and the wrecks of the Freeda A. Wyley, the USS Harvest Moon and the City of Richmond, as well as the real stories behind the legends of Old Gunn Church, the illegal casino at the Ocean Forest Hotel, the U-boat pens on the Waccamaw River and Drunken Jack Island. This work presents a unique look at the area, its history and the legends that enthrall visitors to this day.

Rick Simmons

Dr. Rick Simmons was born and raised in South Carolina, and during the course of his education, he attended Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University and the University of South Carolina, where he completed his PhD in 1997. He lives in Louisiana with his wife, Sue, and his children, Courtenay and Cord, though he still spends a portion of the summer at his family home in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. He is the holder of the George K. Anding Endowed Professorship at Louisiana Tech University, where he is currently the director of the Honors Program as well as the director of the Center for Academic and Professional Development. This is his third book and second for The History Press; his first book for The History Press, Defending South Carolina's Coast: The Civil War from Georgetown to Little River, was published in 2009.