This portion of beach was mentioned in the 1765 diary of John Bartram, botanist, who lodged at what was presumably Stephen Peak's plantation, "at the west end of long bay". It was also mentioned in the 1773 journal of William Bartram, naturalist, who also "got to the West end of Long Bay, where lodged at a large Indigo plantation." The plantation in question was called "The Ark", possibly because it was originally owned by "Mr. Aark." A 1838 survey recorded it having 3,194 acres. The plantation reported 57 slaves in 1850 and 63 in 1860. The main house was located near the ocean front (at 3rd Ave S and Willow Dr in present-day Surfside Beach) with several slave cabins just to the north along the ocean and a cemetery behind it (S Hollywood Dr on the west, to Juniper Dr on the north, to 6th Ave S on the east, to Cypress Dr on the south.) The main house served as shelter during the great hurricane of 1893. It was later used as an inn then to house beach lifeguards, before it was demolished in the 1960s. The cemetery, where many of the enslaved people of the plantation were buried, continued to be used by descendants of those enslaved families until 1952. In 1980, the town of Surfside Beach declared it abandoned, opening the area for development. The area once occupied by the cemetery is completely covered by residences.