SC roadside chapel offers travelers’ refuge. Now progress may force it to change
Tucked into a wooded area just off of U.S. 501 heading into Conway is a small chapel.
The Travelers Chapel, a quaint white building with six pews inside, has spent more than a half a century offering people a quiet place to gather, pray, meditate or even get married. It’s always open and it’s free.
The location at 1785 U.S. 501 E. has seen extreme growth over the years with businesses and housing developments popping up around the chapel.
That growth also has brought increased traffic, as thousands of speeding vehicles pass in front of the chapel daily.
And now, the chapel is preparing for additional change as road work on Highway 501 may affect how the chapel operates.
The work is part of Horry County’s Ride III road infrastructure project that will turn the busy U.S. 501 into six lanes from S.C. 31 to the S.C. 544 interchange.
“It has (brought traffic),” said Mike Strite, president of the board of directors for the Travelers Chapel, about the work happening around the chapel.
Strite said that the current pipeline construction happening in front of the chapel tore out the power line to the building, and it took a month to get power restored.
“We don’t know yet,” Strite said about how much the road construction will affect the chapel.
The chapel will lose its parking lot, as the building is located near the edge of the road expansion, Strite said.
However, he has been told by construction officials that areas adjacent to the chapel could be used for parking once the work is complete.
Strite already knows that the chapel will need a new sign, as the current sign will have to be removed for the roadwork.
But ultimately, Strite said the board will have to “wait and see what happens.”
The chapel was built in 1972 by the Rev. Emory Young and his son Bruce Young. It is a nonprofit that operates on donations and overseen by a board of directors.
The number of people who use the chapel varies by season, Strite said. While the actual number of visitors is hard to determine, based on the register book within the building, about 600 to 700 people have stopped at the chapel so far this year, Strite said.
The road improvements are expected to conclude during the fall of 2026 at a cost of $50 million.
