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In 1911 K. Clyde Council represented the town in opening what is now Lake Shore Drive. He, along with H.J. Bardin and W.H. Chauncey, laid out the road along the lake front since land owners would not agree for the road to be run behind their residence and across their land.

Wilmington YMCA built a boys camp at the Lake in 1910. 'They used the public pavilions as a mess hall and assembly place. The camp baseball diamond lay where the canal now runs and on a portion of higher ground north of the canal.

The biggest event of the year at the lake was the Fourth of July celebration. White people came on the 4th, and Black people came on the 6th. They arrived sometimes more than 1,000 strong by every conceivable conveyance, from special trains to wagons and buggies and by foot. Local churches and other organizations and groups set up stands and tents along the back edge of the public beach and sold homemade food of every description, candy, and lemonade. There was usually a traveling carnival present for the occasion with a merry-go round and various innocuous sideshows, such as a snake pit or trained dogs. In earlier days, many of the visitors retired to the swampy woods behind the beach to change into swimming clothes and to dress again. One of the biggest problems of the July celebration was space to park horses, mules, vehicles, and later cars. Many local residents opened their yards for this purpose some charging a small fee and others not. Later the Weavers opened a bathhouse with several hundred dressing stalls and rented bath suits and accommodated thousands of bathers. A broad boardwalk was built along the waterfront as well as a 200 yard pier extending directly out from Weavers with a covered pavilion and diving boards at its end. Later this was lengthened another 400 feet, and out beyond that were slides and a diving stand. Typical of the accounts of the 4th are this one in the News Reporter: BIG DAY AT LAKE MONDAY THE 4TH. There were bathing beautiesm, dashes of various distances, climbing the greased pole, the fat man's race, Charleston contest, and numerous other amusements for the crowd who flocked to Lake Waccamaw on Monday for the annual 4th of July celebration. Traffic was easily handled because of the fact that competent policemen were placed at various points to regulate the traffic on all the one way drives. No arrests were made during the day. Hundreds of people cooled themselves in the waters of the Lake where it is safe for the smallest of children to go bathing. Those on the shore were able to see everybody they knew in the whole territory for they were all there.

Around 1910 a local group joined to form the Waccamaw Club. The club served as a gathering place for hunting parties and house parties. Later the Club was abandoned, and the building became the Waggaman Hotel. About 1910 a two story pavilion was built a hundred feet or so out in the lake in front of the Waggaman Hotel, housing a bathhouse and a dance floor where orchestras played during warm summer evenings and large public dances were held. On occasion articles appeared in The News Reporter discussing the morality of this resort town. " 'Is Lake Waccamaw That?' 'During the present summer there has been some complaint on the part of people over various parts of Columbus County that Lake Waccamaw is not just exactly as moral as it should be. Various accusations have been thrown at those who attend the fast growing resort. It is a fact which cannot be denied that during the course of human events some liquor has been consumed by men who gather there. Possibly some women have attended house parties and dances downthere who weren't altogether so conventional as they should have been. We forget to stop and think, however, that folks who are on vacation supposedly carefree, making every effort to enjoy their outing, are not so particular to guard every action to keep others from thinking they are not what they seem. All parties are chaperoned at Lake Waccamaw, and aptly so we are informed; and just because we hear that convention is slightly forgotten, we should not be so eager and willing to draw out hasty conclusions. Anyway those who are so critical are the ones who never attend any events at the Lake and really know nothing of what takes place.

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