INTRODUCTION

Greenville, once called the Queen City on the Tar, owes its expansive growth to the railroad, tobacco, and education. The founder of what was to become Greenville could hardly have envisioned what would become of the 100 acres he laid off into a fledgling village. The city of Greenville can trace its beginnings back to the creation of Pitt County in 1760 from neighboring Beaufort County. Because there was no county seat, Col. John Hardee, a leading citizen in the area, gave his home as the new county courthouse. The house, once located three miles east of Greenville in the country, is now within the city limits. This courthouse also served as a church and muster ground around which the small community known as Log Town developed.

By 1771, a Pitt County legislator by the name of Richard Evans decided to divide off his plantation in order to properly form the town. He chose a bluff on the south side of the Tar River, three miles west of Log Town. This town was named Martinsborough in honor of then-Royal Governor Josiah Martin and was the forerunner of present-day Greenville. Richard Evans died soon after and his widow, Susannah Evans, continued with the town. The newly chartered town was laid off into 100 half-acre lots by seven appointed commissioners authorized to sell the parcels by public auction. In 1774, the original charter was amended and Martinsborough became the county seat of Pitt County.

Martinsborough remained a very small river village until after the Revolution. On January 8, 1787, by act of the North Carolina General Assembly, Martinsborough became Greensville in honor of Gen. Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War hero. This same act of assembly also chartered the Pitt Academy. The creation of this academy was the beginning of Greenville’s long interest in education, and a history filled with numerous schools and academies under the auspices of many noted North Carolina educators. Greensville, which later became simply Greenville, remained a small courthouse village with several stores and wharves.

During his Southern tour in 1791, President George Washington came through the area and noted in his diary that Greenville was an indifferent place of about 15 families and had a large tar and turpentine market. Greenville continued to grow very slowly but had numerous prominent citizens and even a jockey club.

In the 1830s a bridge was built over the Tar River, making way for steamboats and creating new prosperity. A number of factories established themselves in Greenville, manufacturing such products as carriages, cotton gins, and silk. The town began to fade in the 1840s when many of its prominent citizens left North Carolina during the mass exodus to the newly opened Southern and Western territories.

The Civil War overshadowed the town of Greenville. Its location on the Tar River made it a no man’s land between Confederate and Union; the town was overrun in various skirmishes. Greenville boasted having several Confederate hospitals during the War under the control of the female citizens, since all the men were off fighting elsewhere. Reconstruction brought a carpetbagger type of government to both Pitt County and Greenville politics. Numerous killings and riots on the city streets only added misery to the poverty brought on by the war.

It wasn’t until the late 1870s that Greenville began to come alive again. The town started to expand, new businesses flourished, and by 1890, with the coming of the train, Greenville opened up to the world. Soon after, tobacco reigned supreme as the cash crop and Greenville developed as the largest tobacco market in Eastern North Carolina. Greenville expanded its borders, built larger homes and businesses, and attracted new industry; its prosperity lasted many years. In 1907, the North Carolina Legislature established East Carolina Teachers Training School, now East Carolina University. With its opening in 1909, Greenville became the educational center of Eastern North Carolina. Greenville’s beauty as a city was well-known for a long time as evidenced in 1919, when a newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia voted Greenville one of the most beautiful towns in the South.

Prosperous times soon gave way to the devastation of the Great Depression. Money was tight, businesses closed, and houses were neglected. It wasn’t until the 1950s that Greenville Urban renewal plans of the 1960s tried to create a renaissance in Greenville and demolished many of Greenville’s old buildings in hope of stimulating new development. Unfortunately, while many neglected buildings were razed, much of Greenville’s past fell to the wrecking ball. Neighborhoods of beautiful homes were torn down for parking lots, and tree-lined streets were removed to enlarge them.

Greenville now boasts a population of over 50,000 and continues to grow, stretching out several miles from the old city center. The original downtown is in the midst of redevelopment again. Different historical and architectural groups are trying to save the heritage of Greenville’s great past for future generations.

PHOTO CREDITS

ECMC—East Carolina Manuscript Collection, Special Collections, J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.

UNC-Chapel Hill—North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alex Albright—These photographs are from an original 35-millimeter film by John Warner. Reprints from the film are by Patrick Keough.

One

OLDEN DAYS