Winyah Bay

The bay is evidence of a drowned coastline, created by a rise in sea level in recent geologic time.

The first European contact with Winyah Bay was June 24, 1521, when two ships commanded by Pedro de Quexós and Francisco Gordillo arrived.

[3] The original name for Winyah Bay given by the Spaniards was San Juan Bautista, as they arrived on St. John the Baptist's Day.

[4][5] One of these, Francisco de Chicora, went to Spain and was interviewed at length by court historian Peter Martyr who published detailed reports.

[4] The first African slaves in what would become the present day United States of America arrived August 9, 1526, in Winyah Bay, when Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón brought 600 colonists to start a colony.