Greenville dates to 1799, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #13 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
11 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 47 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1801.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Greenville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Greenville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #13 of 142 in Kentucky. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Greenville’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Greenville’s 125 sits above most of its state (71% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would still be A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.6 points). Two sources give 1799.
Founding year: Wikidata (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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The town was settled in 1799 on an estate donated by local landowner William Campbell in order to establish a seat of government for a new county. Greenville was not established by the state assembly until 1812, however. It was incorporated as a city in 1848.
The city was probably named for the Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Local lore holds it was named by Campbell's wife after the abundant forests seen from the town's hilltop location.
Scioto and the Little Miami, was unsettled until after the treaty of Greenville, except at Manchester, some twelve miles above Maysville, Ky., in Adams county, which was laid out by General Massie, in 1790; it M-as thus early settled, partly from motives of greater security to the surveying operations in which Massie was engaged. Though this colony was organized in the time of hottest Indian warfare, in the favorite
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Greenville, 1799 to 1994
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1799, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Greenville’s post office opened in 1801, and the census of 1830 counted 217 people here.
How does Greenville rank for history?
Greenville is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #13 of 142 in Kentucky. 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?
11 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Muhlenberg County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Greenville Commercial Historic District, the North Main Street Historic District and the South Cherry Street Historic District, with 47 contributing buildings. 55 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Greenville?
21% of Greenville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.6 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (12), the National Register of Historic Places (11), Wikipedia, 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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