A Short History of Greenville

Beginning when Greenville was Cherokee hunting grounds, then following its growth from frontier settlement to village to summer resort, A Short History of Greenville traces the town’s political and social changes from Unionism to Secession and from agriculture to textiles to tourism.

A Concise and engaging history that traces Greenville's development from backcountry settlement to one of America's best small citiesToday, Greenville, South Carolina, is regularly included on lists of the best cities and places to live in the United States. The present-day site of technological innovation nestled in the Piedmont of America's Southeast, Greenville is promoted as a future-oriented city and weekend getaway for tourists interested in art, culture, nature, and cuisine. In this lively historical account illustrated with sixty images, author Judith T. Bainbridge invites readers to explore the full expanse of Greenville's history, from its earliest days as Cherokee hunting grounds, to its development as a western outpost settlement and later a nineteenth-century summer resort. From the economic boom brought by the textile industry, to the bust of the Great Depression, and finally to the revitalization of the downtown as a haven for business and tourism in the twenty-first century, Bainbridge charts the development of this dynamic city.