Greenville was carved out of the blackland prairie by pioneers who cleared the tall grass for the homes and farms. When Hunt County was created in 1846 by the first legislature of the new state in of Texas in 1946, Greenville was named the county seat. Our community blends our heritage and contemporary lifestyle for the best of both worlds.
Greenville was named for Thomas Jefferson Green, a general in the Texas Army for independence from Mexico and, later, a member of the Congress of the Republic of Texas.
The rich blackland soil that stuck to shoes and buggy wheels when wet proved to be a real economic asset. It grew a high quality cotton used by English spinning and weaving mills. As a matter of fact, Greenville produced cotton became a favorite of mills in Liverpool and Manchester England. Cotton brought the railroads to Greenville and with them growth and prosperity. The "cotton capital of the world," Greenville soon boasted the world's largest cotton compress, breaking world records in 1911 and 1912. The population grew to several thousand and the town became a rail hub wit 6 railways! Audie Murphy, a sharecropper's son, who became the most decorated soldier of WWII, grew up on the cotton farms around the community.
As the area began to shift from agriculture to industry in the 1950's, the city developed its first industrial park. Additional industry grew at the converted World War II Majors Field Air Corp Base, now the municipal airport and location of L-3's Greenville facility.
Today, Greenville is a thriving community of over 26,000 that combines the best of hometown warmth with nearby big-city excitement and the natural beauty of East Texas. The community's many civic organizations, churches, and city-wide festivals and celebrations are enhanced by the availability of local parks, museums, library, golf courses, and nearby lakes. To learn more about Greenville's history, visit the Audie Murphy American Cotton Museum located on I-30. www.cottonmuseum.com
