Pee Dee

The Pee Dee region of South Carolina is the northeastern corner of the state. It is the area of the lower watershed of the Pee Dee River, named after the Pee Dee Native American tribe. Its center is Florence. It also encompasses the Grand Strand, which includes the beaches running from the North Carolina state line to the Winyah Bay in Georgetown County in South Carolina.

On the coast, the area is predominantly involved in tourism and resorts with beaches, amusement parks, shopping, fishing, and golf. The area has become a major retirement center in the United States, in part because of its low cost of living and its many golf courses. Inland is a belt featuring rivers, marshes, carolina bays and sandy rises where forestry is predominant, with pine plantations and baldcypress timbering.

Further inland, on higher ground, but still of only slight relief, is an agricultural belt of tobacco, cotton, soybeans and produce.

Florence, originally founded as a railroad center is a small, but growing center of production of pharmaceuticals, and other light industry. It is also known as a center of medical and dental care. The Pee Dee Region also produces paper, steel, and recreational vehicles.

Contents

Counties

Cities

Primary Cities

(population figures is from 2008 estimates)

Cities with a population of at least 5,000

Higher education

4-year colleges

2-year or specialized colleges

Media

The area is served by four commercial broadcast television stations, WBTW CBS 13, WPDE ABC 15, WMBF NBC 32, and WFXB Fox 43 the first two with twin studios at Florence and Myrtle Beach, as well as an educational television station substation, WHMC-TV, in Conway, South Carolina. Daily newspapers include The Sun News of Myrtle Beach and The Morning News of Florence. The Georgetown Times is published five times per week.

Major Highways

See also