Connie Rice & Partners - Greenville, SC Real Estate Team

FROM A VILLAGE TO A TOWN
In 1831, the Village of Greenville became the Town of Greenville and established a City Government with a Council made up of an Intendant and four Wardens. The Council appointed a Clerk, a High Constable, a Town Surveyor, a Bell Ringer and a Sexton who would care for the Town Cemetery, later to be named Springwood Cemetery. The Council strongly advocated the planting of trees along down town streets. To protect their trees, they voted to fine those citizens who even tied their horses to the trees while on business in down town.

Of the many log and weather boarded houses built in the town before 1850, only a few remain and all are listed on the National Register of Historic Places - Whitehall, also referred to as Governor Middleton’s House; the Fountain Fox Beattie House, known as the Greenville Woman’s Club; the Elias Earle Town House and the Josiah Kilgore House (pictured), which is home to the Greenville Garden Club.

The 1850s were a time of rapid growth in the little town of Greenville and its immediate surrounding area. A new Court House was built and believed to have been designed by the well known Engineer/Architect Robert Mills. Both Furman University and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary came to town.

The first railroad, the Greenville and Columbia Railroad, built its terminal in the West End area. The Greenville Female College was established and grammar schools built. Greenville had a locally owned carriage and wagon manufacturing plant, the largest in the south. Through the generosity of a citizen, Alexander McBee, the City was provided with piped water.

Greenville ’s nearby mountains still provide an abundance of pure water and shield the City from severe weather, such as tornados and large amounts of frozen precipitation.

Then came the 1860s and the Civil War

The City Council had the patrols to become better organized and to be under the direction of Marshals. Men were enlisted into military groups. Women’s groups organized to knit socks and gloves, to prepare bandages and to care for the sick and wounded.

Vardry McBee gave to the State of South Carolina a piece of land on which to build an Armory for the repair and manufacture of rifles, particularly Morse rifles, for the use of the Confederate Army. Morse, himself, moved to Greenville to oversee the rifle making.

At the close of the Civil War, Greenville’s own, Benjamin F. Perry, an attorney, was appointed provisional Governor of South Carolina. Federal troops, commanded by Major John W. DeForest occupied Greenville for the duration of the Reconstruction period.

The village
In 1797, having purchased the grant of land which included Pearis’ camp site and which later had been purchased from the State by Revolutionary soldier, Thomas Brandon, and having obtained several other tracts of adjacent land, totaling 11,023 acres, Lemuel Alston drew a plan for a Village with lots laid off and containing a court house and a jail. This little village which he had named Pleasantburg soon became known as “Greeneville” and was soon thereafter was spelled “ Greenville.”

Lemuel Alston’s dream of development only partly came true. A log jail was built, a log courthouse was built, lots were laid off but only a few lots sold.

McBee influence

In 1815, Alston sold all of his holdings and his very nice home, called Prospect Hill (pictured), to Vardry McBee of Lincolnton, North Carolina.

Through McBee’s progressive efforts, which included not only the sale of real estate, partnership with newcomers in new businesses, bringing trained tradesmen, such as harness and saddle makers, brick makers, a mill wright, carriage makers and house builders to the area, the village grew to a town.

In addition, McBee gave land to each denomination of religion on which to build their church.

After becoming a trading center for surrounding counties, in time, the little Town of Greenville also became a health resort for the low country people who were escaping the malaria and humidity of the coastal regions. Stagecoaches conveyed passengers and mail from Charleston and Asheville. Greenville’s first newspaper, The Republican, began to be published.

Indian trading post & mill

The City of Greenville is situated on land formerly belonging to the Cherokee Indians and briefly used by an Indian trader, Richard Pearis, as his camp site. On this site Pearis built a house, a trading post, a smoke house, stables, a dairy, a blacksmith shop, a grist mill, a sawmill and slave quarters. Pearis also planted crops and an orchard. However, because he was not a Patriot, all of these possessions he lost during the Revolutionary War.

Following the defeat of the Cherokee Indians and the British during the Revolutionary War, South Carolina made available to Revolutionary soldiers for first occupancy all of the land which composes both the City of Greenville and the County of Greenville.

DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE NEIGHBORHOODS

pettigru


The Pettigru District offers many restored older homes with an interesting mixture of businesses, single family residences and apartments. The area has recently been designated as a local historic preservation district.

park avenue
An eclectic mix of bungalows and colonial revival homes blend well with new condominiums and apartments in this designated historic district. Groceries and convenience shopping are within walking distance and the activity of Main Street is just a few blocks away.

mcdaniel avenue/alta vista
Cleveland Park meanders through this area, one of the City's most prestigious addresses. Apartments and condominiums mix comfortably with stately mansions in this well established community.

hampton/pinckney


The Hampton/Pinckney Historic District is an established historic neighborhood and one of the City's most desirable addresses. The large Victorian homes in this area date from the late nineteenth century.

earle street/north main area
Traveling north on Main Street, one moves from the hustle and bustle of Downtown to quiet residential streets, neighborhood schools, and lush parks. From contemporary condos in a park-like setting to stately historic homes, the North Main area offers the peace of the suburbs but with the convenience of a Downtown address.

Downtown Greenville is fast becoming one of the most popular places to live in the City. With quality schools, unparalleled cultural amenities within walking distance, a location convenient to other parts of the City, and a variety of living options in safe and comfortable neighborhoods, Downtown is the perfect place to call home.

New residential units are now under construction and are available for purchase. For a look at some of the latest downtown development projects, click here.

main street

All ages and walks of life come together to make Main Street the most lively of Downtown's neighborhoods. The area offers the convenience of a stroll to work, shopping, dining, and cultural events. The housing units along Main Street are some of the most varied and unique in the City, ranging from small studio apartments to luxurious condominiums.