A concise and engaging history that traces Greenville's development from backcountry settlement to one of America's best small cities
Today, Greenville, South Carolina, is regularly included on lists of the best cities and places to live in the United States. The present-day site of technological innovation nestled in the Piedmont of America's Southeast, Greenville is promoted as a future-oriented city and weekend getaway for tourists interested in art, culture, nature, and cuisine. In this lively historical account illustrated with sixty images, author Judith T. Bainbridge invites readers to explore the full expanse of Greenville's history, from its earliest days as Cherokee hunting grounds, to its development as a western outpost settlement and later a nineteenth-century summer resort. From the economic boom brought by the textile industry, to the bust of the Great Depression, and finally to the revitalization of the downtown as a haven for business and tourism in the twenty-first century, Bainbridge charts the development of this dynamic city.
Judith T. Bainbridge is professor emerita of English at Furman University. She has written six books about the history of Greenville. From 1999 through 2001 she wrote a biweekly column about Greenville history for the Greenville News.
"A fast-paced narrative about a remarkably ambitious Southern city—a city always evolving but over the centuries still as recognizable as its river and falls!"—Greenville Mayor Knox H. White
"Bainbridge has created a panorama of the growth of the city and county of Greenville, written in her usual lively, engaging style. The story is filled with details gleaned from her decades of immersion in local newspapers and records. Read and enjoy!"—A. V. Huff Jr., professor emeritus, history, Furman University