While the low country of South Carolina had been settled for
many years, Greenville County, once the stronghold of the Cherokee Indians, was
not ceded until 1777. The Greenville District was created in 1786, but was known
as Pleasantburg until 1831. The origins of the name Greenville County are
uncertain. The county was either named for an early resident, Isaac Green or
Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene.
The first settler in present Greenville County was Richard Pearis. He married
a Cherokee woman and records indicate that the Cherokee tribe thought so highly
of him that he was given several tracts of land by the Cherokee Indian tribe.
On part of this estate now stands the City of Greenville and Paris Mountain,
it's name a derivative of Pearis.
The city of Greenville was founded in 1770 at the site of the Reedy River
Falls Park in downtown Greenville. The falls were once the source of power for
early industries. The land around Greenville became a village centered around a
trading post and grist mill.
Greenville evolved at the vision of Vardry McBee, whom some call the "Father
of Greenville." He was instrumental in moving Furman University from Edgefield
to Greenville in 1851 and in securing Greenville's first railroad. McBee
encouraged the construction of mills to take advantage of Greenville's proximity
to fast-flowing water, the Reedy River. Soon the town was the home to a number
of grist, textile and paper mills and the largest carriage factory east of the
Mississippi. By the end of the 19th century and into the next, Greenville
industry was expanding up and down the banks of the Reedy River.
All webpages that are being made
available for your viewing & use, are not copyrighted. It's
believed that the usage of any
original work submittals contained within these webpages such as
articles, compiling, photographs or graphics, conform to
Fair Use Doctrine & Copyright guidelines.
COPYRIGHT: (1) Works published
before 1923, are considered to be public-domain. (2) Works published
1923-1977 without a copyright notice, are considered to be public-domain.
(3) Unpublished non-copyrighted works will have Author permission for
public-domain. Facts (names, dates & places) & data can not be
copyrighted. Narration, compilations and creative works can be
copyrighted. Copyright law in the U.S. does not protect facts or data,
just the presentation of this data.
Disclaimer: This Genealogy Project is
using "Historically Correct Words" that some individuals may
now consider to
be offensive.
This website contains ~5,000 hyperlinks. It's expected that some of the
links will be broken and in need of repair. If you discovered a broken link
please note its URL
Address, Hyperlink Name and e-mail your finding to
kankula@bellsouth.net.
