Fact: Folks who live in Greenville *adore* Greenville. If you’re a native, you likely love reminiscing about your favorite GVL traditions + sharing photos of our city back in the day. If you’re newer to Greenville, its local history might be something you’re still discovering bit by bit.
The Greenville County Historical Society might be Greenville’s biggest fan of all – they’ve been here 90+ years preserving the history of our area + making it available to the folks who live here.
It all started with the Upper Carolina Historical Society in 1928, which operated until the Great Depression. One generation later, the Greenville Historical Records Committee collected the histories of 126 local families + influential people in 1961.
From that project came the Greenville Historical Society, who first met in April 1962. They adopted a constitution, elected officers + their first president (Marion M. Hewell) presented the society’s first paper: “Vardry McBee: The Father of Greenville.”
The Historical Society has been collecting material related to our city’s history since that April meeting in the 60s. And they want you to be an active part of making sure Greenville’s past is part of the future – go explore their collection of records, books, maps, photos + newspapers, get familiar with our historic spots, and share what you learn.
They’re located at 100 Lavinia Ave., and if you stop by, you can browse Greenville maps dating back to the 1880s + buy a sun catcher ornament for your favorite GVL-lover.
You can also do some personal/commercial property research, like where exactly those property lines are. Once you get obsessed with history (or if you already are), you’ll definitely want to join the Historical Society and be a part of Greenville’s history.
