Early history This area was occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. When the
French explored here, they encountered the historic
Natchez people. As part of their colony known as
La Louisiane, the French established a settlement at what became
Natchez, Mississippi. Other Native American tribes also lived in what is now known as Mississippi. The current city of Greenville is the third in the State to bear the name. The first, (known as
Old Greenville) located to the south near
Natchez, was the Jefferson County seat from 1803 to 1825 but became defunct soon after the
American Revolution, as European-American settlement was then still concentrated in the eastern states. This ghost town was in no way related to the second Greenville except that they eventually shared a name. Many migrants came to the area of the future, second Greenville, located approximately 150 miles north of the first Greenville, from the eastern and
Upper South states, seeking land for developing cotton plantations, and this area became a trading center for the region's plantations. In 1830, the United States Congress passed the
Indian Removal Act, which authorized the government to make treaties to revoke Native American land claims in exchange for lands west of the Mississippi River. They forced most of the Southeastern tribes to
Indian Territory during the following decade. After it became necessary to relocate the county seat of Washington County in 1844 due to the loss of land to the newly formed Issaquena County, the not-yet-established second Greenville was designated as the future county seat and finally became so upon its founding in 1847. American William W. Blanton filed for land from the United States government and was granted section four, township eighteen, range eight west; this plot now constitutes most of current downtown Greenville (the third). It was named by its founders for General
Nathanael Greene, friend of President
George Washington, for whom the county was named. This Greenville was thriving hamlet in the antebellum years, as cotton plantations developed in the area generated high profits for major planters. They used indentured Whites, captured Indians and African slaves as farmhands on the plantations. Washington County's two previous county seats,
New Mexico and
Princeton, were located along the Mississippi River and had been eroded by the waters, to the point that they were destroyed. As county seat, Greenville was the trading, business, and cultural center for the large
cotton plantations that surrounded it. Most plantations were located directly on the Mississippi and other major navigable tributaries. The interior bottomlands were not developed until after the Civil War.
The destruction of Greenville and the Civil War The town (the second Greenville, eventually also referred to as Old Greenville It was similar to
Beale Street in mid-20th century
Memphis. In the early 21st century, the
Mississippi Blues Commission was established to commemorate this music in the state's history and culture. It has identified sites throughout the Delta as part of the
Mississippi Blues Trail. Southern Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in Greenville was the second site identified on this trail; this was a stop on the
Chitlin' Circuit in the early days of the blues. The historic marker in front of the restaurant commemorates its importance in the history of the
blues in Mississippi.
21st century In 2020 the city ordered churches to shut down to prevent the spread of
COVID-19 and issued citations and fines to those attending a drive-in church gathering. The
U.S. Justice Department intervened on behalf of the church. ==Geography==