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History · Greenville

Greenville’s post office opened in 1816

Most of Greenville was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1934 on and the census since 1880.

1816first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Greenville began

When was Greenville founded?

1816

The Greenville post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 100 in 18802020 census: 443210 years
Founding year: the first Greenville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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 writtenNo old photos of Greenville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,051 in 1900; 443 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1816: 210 years of Greenville.
★ 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Greenville, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,051

Peaked at 1,051 in 1900; 443 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Greenville, 1816 to 1934

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816Post officeThe Greenville post office opens
  3. 1870Born hereNelson McDowell is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 1,051
  6. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Greenville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Greenville.

Read it all →

Greenville was named after Fort Greene Ville (now Greenville), Ohio, the site where General Anthony Wayne signed a treaty with the Native Americans after defeating them in the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794. This was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War. Wayne County was named for this military hero and Greenville was named for the place he was most famous for. Incidentally, Fort Greene Ville, Ohio, was named after Nathanael Greene, a friend of Wayne.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Greenville, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Wayne County MO Courthouse 20151021-0052015Wayne County MO Courthouse 20151021-005Old2014Old
On the map

Greenville on the map, 1934 to 1970

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 1934 USGS mapGreenville on the 1966 USGS mapGreenville on the 1970 USGS map1934Greenville 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.

Questions about Greenville’s history

What year was Greenville founded?

The Greenville post office opened in 1816, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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) 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.