Greenville County, South Carolina

History

18th and 19th centuries

In 1786, due to population growth in Ninety-Six District and the victory of the American Whigs over the British and their colonial Tory and Cherokee allies, the state legislature formed Greenville County (originally spelled Greeneville), named for General Nathanael Greene, the hero of the American southern campaign. Greenville County was the first county created in the overarching Ninety-Six District, but from 1791 to 1798, both neighboring Pendleton County (the other county formed from Cherokee territory in northwestern Ninety-Six District) and it were part of the new overarching Washington District. From 1798 to 1800, it was part of the short-lived overarching Pendleton District. In 1798, all counties were reidentified as "elective districts" to be effective on January 1, 1800; thereafter, the Greenville District was no longer part of Pendleton District. In 1868, the districts were converted back to counties. After the Civil War ended in the 1860s, former slaves gained freedom, the textile industry grew quickly, and cotton farming expanded in the county. Completion of the Southern Railway in 1893 joined the local economy with the rest of the nation.

20th century

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's consolidation into the 1900s further linked the county with the national economy, and dozens of textile companies opened, with farm workers migrating to associated mill villages. World War I and creation of the Army National Guard's Camp Sevier in Taylors further increased the county's outside connections in the early 20th century. Duke's Mayonnaise was started in Greenville in 1917 and still has its company headquarters in the county.

World War II brought additional contracts for the textile industry in the 1940s. After the war ended, agriculture decreased and business leaders such as Charles E. Daniel and Roger Milliken pursued other industries to replace textiles. Donaldson Air Force Base was converted into an industrial air park (now Donaldson Center Airport) in the early 1960s, and Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport opened then as well.

The 1960s brought gradual racial desegregation until the county's whole school district was integrated in January 1970. Interstate highways I-85, I-185, and I-385 first crossed the county in the 1960s, promoting growth and better economic placement. The mid-1960s reapportionment of state legislative representation into equal-population election districts brought political change, with metropolitan counties such as Greenville gaining influence over rural counties. Greenville County politicians were elected as state house and senate leaders and as state governors (Richard Riley and Carroll A. Campbell Jr.) in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 795.57 sqmi, of which 785.93 sqmi is land and 9.64 sqmi (1.21%) is water.

State and local protected areas/sites

• Ashmore Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area
• Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
• Belvue Springs Heritage Preserve
• Blackwell Heritage Preserve
• Blue Wall Preserve
• Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve
• Caesars Head/Jones Gap
• Caesars Head State Park
• Cedar Falls Park
• Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area
• Clear Creek Heritage Preserve
• Conestee Nature Preserve
• Eva Russell Chandler Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area
• Falls Park on the Reedy
• Greenville Zoo
• J. Verne Smith Park (Lake Robinson)
• Jones Gap State Park
• Mills Mill
• Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area
• Paris Mountain State Park
• Pleasant Valley Park
• Poinsett Bridge Heritage Preserve
• Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
• Upcountry History Museum
• Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve/Wildlife Management Area

Major water bodies

• Enoree River
• North Saluda Reservoir
• North Saluda River
• Reedy River
• Saluda River
• South Pacolet River
• South Saluda River

Adjacent counties

• Henderson County, North Carolina – north
• Polk County, North Carolina – northeast
• Spartanburg County – east
• Laurens County – southeast
• Abbeville County – south
• Anderson County – southwest
• Pickens County – west
• Transylvania County, North Carolina – northwest

Major highways

• (Greenville)
• (Wade Hampton)
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Major infrastructure

• Donaldson Center Airport
• Greenville Downtown Airport
• Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport (mostly in Spartanburg County)
• Greenville Station (Amtrak)

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, 525,534 people and 130,296 families resided in the county. The median age was 38.7 years; 22.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.0 males.

The racial makeup of the county was 67.2% White, 16.8% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.9% from some other race, and 7.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 11.0% of the population.

88.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 11.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 209,082 households in the county, of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.2% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 226,215 housing units, of which 7.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 66.4% were owner-occupied and 33.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.

2010 census

At the 2000 census, 451,225 people, 176,531 households, and 119,362 families were residing in the county. The population density was 574.7 PD/sqmi. The 195,462 housing units had an average density of 249.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 73.8% White, 18.1% African American, 2.0% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.9% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.1% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 13.0% were American, 11.6% were German, 10.9% were English, and 10.7% were Irish.

Of the 176,531 households, 33.7% had children under 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% were not families, and 27.0% were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.49, and the average family size was 3.03. The median age was 37.2 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,830 and for a family was $59,043. Males had a median income of $45,752 versus $33,429 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,931. About 10.8% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.

Racial and ethnic composition

Ancestry

As of 2016, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Greenville County were:

Government and politics

Greenville County is governed by a 12-member county council. The current county administrator is Joseph Kernell, whom the council appointed in January 2004 after voting in late 2003 to hire him. Kernell was previously the county administrator for St. Charles County, Missouri. Other staff hired by the council include a clerk and an attorney.

Council members are elected by voters in each of the 12 state legislative districts (17–28) within the county and serve staggered four-year terms.

From the latter half of the 20th century onward, Greenville County has voted overwhelmingly Republican in presidential elections. It has gone Republican in every presidential election since 1960, and in all but one election since 1952. Jimmy Carter of neighboring Georgia failed to win the county in 1976 despite winning the state. Carter's 1976 run is the last time a Democrat received 40% or more of the county's vote, and one of only two official Democratic candidates to do so since 1948. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democrat to obtain over 100,000 votes in the county, and Donald Trump's 18.2% margin of victory was the lowest for any Republican since 1980. Biden came within 320 votes of being only the second Democrat in 64 years to win 40% of the county's vote.

The county also rejects Democrats at the state level; it was one of the first areas of the state where Republicans were able to break the long Democratic monopoly on state and local offices. In South Carolina politics, conservative Greenville and Myrtle Beach are a counterbalance to the liberal Charleston and Columbia, and the competitive Charlotte suburbs.

Law enforcement

When Greenville County was formed in 1786, it was served by the sheriff of the Ninety Six District. A Washington District, including Greenville and Pendleton Counties, existed from 1791 to 1799. (Pendleton was split in 1826 into Pickens and Anderson Counties.) One of the district's first sheriffs, Revolutionary War hero Robert Maxwell, served from 1795 to 1797, when he was killed in an ambush.

Sheriffs in South Carolina were originally elected by the state legislature. In 1808, a law was enacted to provide for the election of the sheriff directly by the citizens of the county, rather than by politicians. This method of election was placed into the South Carolina State Constitution in 1868 and the Office of Sheriff in Greenville County began.

In 2017, Sheriff Will Lewis was suspended by Governor Henry McMaster for misconduct, perjury, and obstruction of justice. These charges came out of a sexual assault lawsuit filed by Lewis' female assistant. Although the sheriff said the relationship was consensual, he settled the claim for an undisclosed sum. Lewis was found guilty in 2019 and sentenced to a year of prison, although he did not begin his sentence until October 2021.

, the sheriff of Greenville County is Hobart Lewis. The sheriff's office includes five divisions: Administrative Services, Community Services, Uniform Patrol, Criminal Investigations, and Judicial Services.

As of 2025, 17 officers of the Greenville County Sheriff's Office have been killed in the line of duty.

Economy

CommunityWorks Federal Credit Union was chartered in 2014 to serve the residents of Greenville County. It is sponsored by CommunityWorks, Inc., a nonprofit community-development financial institution, and receives assistance from the United Way of Greenville County and the Hollingsworth Fund.

In 2022, the GDP of Greenville County was $40.6 billion (approx. $72,712 per capita). In chained 2017 dollars, it had a real GDP of $34.3 billion (approx. $61,507 per capita). From 2022 through 2024, the unemployment rate has fluctuated between 2.1-3.3% within the county.

Some of the largest employers in the county include Bon Secours, Charter Communications, GE Vernova, Lockheed Martin, Michelin, Prisma Health, Publix, TD Bank, the United States Postal Service, and Walmart.

Education

School districts serving the county include:

• Anderson School District 2
• Greenville County School District
• Spartanburg County School District 1

Additionally, Greenville County has numerous public charter schools that are free to state residents.

The Greenville County Library System includes 11 libraries that provide meeting spaces, programs, books and other educational resources for county residents. The library system is managed by a board of trustees whose 11 members serve 4-year terms after appointment by the county council. Terms expire at the end of November in odd-numbered years, with half expiring every two years. In October 2023, after some prior controversy, the library board voted to remove all themed displays from its facilities except those pertaining to paid holidays.

Healthcare

The Greenville Memorial Hospital was formerly operated by the municipal government, with Greenville Health System being the operating authority. In 2016, Prisma Health began leasing the hospital and directly operating. The GHA is the portion of the Greenville Health System that still existed after the hospital transitioned into being operated by Prisma.

Communities

In the past, Greenville County was partitioned into townships. Their former names and boundaries were used for United States census counting purposes and census documentation through 1960, after which census counting divisions were used. The 2010 Census lists six cities and 16 census designated places that are fully or partially within Greenville County.

Cities

• Fountain Inn (partly in Laurens County)
• Greenville (county seat and largest community)
• Greer (partly in Spartanburg County)
• Mauldin
• Simpsonville
• Travelers Rest

Census-designated places

• Berea
• Caesars Head
• City View
• Conestee
• Dunean
• Five Forks
• Gantt
• Golden Grove
• Judson
• Parker
• Piedmont (partly in Anderson County)
• Sans Souci
• Slater-Marietta
• Taylors
• The Cliffs Valley
• Tigerville
• Wade Hampton
• Ware Place
• Welcome

Other unincorporated communities

• Altamont
• Batesville
• Cleveland
• Gowensville

References

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