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BHistory
History · Greenville

Greenville’s post office opened in 1871, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #15 of 37 in Delaware. What drives it

5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 2000.

1871first post office
5on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Greenville began

When was Greenville founded?

1871

The Greenville post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,332 in 20002020 census: 3,104155 years

How historic is Greenville?

B

More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Greenville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Greenville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenville is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #15 of 37 in Delaware. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenville’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194019.7% of homes (±7.7) · typical DE town 5.9% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register5 listings, 11 historic buildings, 29.6 per 10,000 residents · typical DE town 29.4 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 63%
NewerOlder
Delaware towns of 2,500+ (37)Ahead of 61%

Delaware towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Delaware town has 29.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Greenville’s 29.6 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Delaware towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Greenville’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages9 hamlets and corners are still on the map.On the map since 19017 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1993. Watch Greenville change.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Greenville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Greenville’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDelaware Invitation: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Greenville had its own post office from 1871 to 1950.

Greenville
1871–1950
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Barley WoodsFairthorneGreenville DevelopmentGreenville ManorGreenville PlaceMonroe ParkMontchanNanticoke FarmsWest Farm
Gone or out of use
Saint Josephs Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Greenville
Saint Joseph on the Brandywine

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Greenville on the map, 1901 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Greenville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Greenville on the 1901 USGS mapGreenville on the 1943 USGS mapGreenville on the 1954 USGS mapGreenville on the 1967 USGS mapGreenville on the 1973 USGS mapGreenville on the 1987 USGS mapGreenville on the 1993 USGS map1901West Chester sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Greenville.

The story so far

Greenville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Greenville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Greenville is a bedroom community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and a suburb of Wilmington. As of the 2020 census, Greenville had a population of 3,104. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Greenville as a census-designated place (CDP). The community is also home to the private residence of Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, and many Du Pont family descendants.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,326 to 3,104 (+33%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Greenville, 1838 to 1991

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Born hereHenry A. du Pont is born here
  3. 1841BuiltSt. Joseph's on the Brandywine is built
  4. 1871Post officeThe Greenville post office opens
  5. 1873Born hereFrancis Irénée du Pont is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1906Born hereJim Thompson is born here
  9. 1943Born herePeggy Etter is born here
  10. 1950Post officeThe Greenville post office closes
  11. 1991In the archiveDelaware Invitation
By decade

Greenville, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s1 item
Delaware Invitation1991Delaware Invitation
Today5 recent
DE 100-DE 141 SB past DE 522008DE 100-DE 141 SB past DE 52DE 100-DE 141 SB at Old Barley Mill Road2008DE 100-DE 141 SB at Old Barley Mill RoadDE 100-DE 141 SB at DE 52 NB exit2008DE 100-DE 141 SB at DE 52 NB exitDE 100-DE 141 SB at DE 52 NB exit 22008DE 100-DE 141 SB at DE 52 NB exit 2Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway - Suburban to Rural Transition Along Route 522004Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway - Suburban to Rural Tr…
On the National Register

5 historic places in Greenville

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Brindley Farm
Brindley FarmSt. Joseph's on the Brandywine, built 1841Walnut Green SchoolHolladay-Harrington House
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival2
Italianate1
Gothic1
Early 20th Century Colonial Revival1
Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals1
Brindley FarmBuilding
St. Joseph's on the BrandywineItalianate · Built 1841
Walnut Green SchoolColonial Revival
Holladay-Harrington HouseEarly 20th Century Colonial Revival
Stockton-MontmorencyLate 19th and 20th Century Revivals

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Greenville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00020002020Peak: 3,104

Between 2,326 and 3,104 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Greenville’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Greenville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Jim ThompsonAmerican fashion designer · b. 1906
Henry A. du PontUnion Army officer, United States Army Medal of… · b. 1838
P
Peggy EtterAmerican chemist and crystallographer · b. 1943
Francis Irénée du PontAmerican chemist · b. 1873

Questions about Greenville’s history

What year was Greenville founded?

The Greenville post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Greenville rank for history?

Greenville is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #15 of 37 in Delaware. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Greenville?

5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Brindley Farm (listed 1976, the first), and 1 historic district, the St. Joseph's on the Brandywine, with 4 contributing buildings. 11 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Greenville?

20% of Greenville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.7 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Delaware town; the median home was built in 1975.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.