From Hotels to Motels

Description

Typically defined as a small collection of overnight cottages built adjacent to federal and state highways, the motor court contributed to America’s early twentieth century popular culture and commercial growth. The motor court was the culmination of the retreat know as the auto camp of the 1910s; the tourist camps of the 1920s and finally the tourist or motor courts of the 1930s which then became rebranded as motels. A combination of motor and hotel.

The City of Holly Hill’s history echos what many cities experienced in America with the new highway system. US1 cut through the center of the City of Holly Hill forever changing its future. At one time the city had over 51 motor courts on its short 4-mile highway.

Explore the fascinating history of the automobile’s impact on tourism from the Gilded Age, thru the Great Depression, to today.