Begin the Historic Greenville Tour

1. REEDY RIVER FALLS, 47 Camperdown Way 
 This area along the Reedy River is where Greenville began. In 1768, Richard Pearis came into this area which was Cherokee land. Along the lower falls, he built a trading post and a grist mill. He became the first landowner other than Indians in this area through his son George, whose mother was Pearis' Cherokee sidewife. The Cherokees gave the land to George and then George transferred the land to his father. When the British accepted this land transfer, Richard Pearis became a Tory. During the American Revolution, Pearls fought with the Tories and the Indians against the Patriots. At the close of the war, the State of South Carolina confiscated his property. 

2. FALLS COTTAGE, 615 South Main Street 
 This house was built by George Dryer (1840) and was originally the home of a successful but modest nineteenth century family. It served as a home as well as a workshop for the family tailoring and shoe-making business. You can see the original brick in the back. The kitchen, which was separate, has disappeared. The spring was down the hill in what is now the Reedy River Park. 

3. TOWN SQUARE, Main Street between East and West Court Streets 
 In the late 1780's Lemuel Alston came to this area and began to buy land. He had a plan for his village, which extended two blocks north and two blocks south of this square. As soon as the courthouse was built (right in the center of this square so that the road went around it the village became known as Greenville Courthouse. You can still see the outline of the four park areas. 

4. POINSETT HOTEL, Main Street on the north west comer of the original town square) 
The Poinsett Hotel built in 1920. It was "THE HOTEL" in the area for many years. It reopened in the fall of 2000. People would travel out of their way to stay at the Poinsett Hotel. It was noted for its furnishing, china, food and service. This was also the site of the Mansion House that was built in 1820 when Greenville was a summer resort. Many people came to escape the heat, humidity and malaria that plagued the coast. 

5. HUGUENOT MILL, West Broad Street 
 Greenville county's textile industry began in 1820; however, mills were not built in the City of Greenville until the 1870's. Huguenot Mill was the second mill in the city and made plaid fabric. The mill office was built in the 1890's and is now part of the Historical Industrial Complex of Greenville. 

6. PROSPECT HILL, Westfield Street (present day Greenville Water Works office) 
 Look for the marker and photograph the site ofLemuel Alston's home, "Prospect 
Hill". Built around 1788, Alston lived in the house which he later turned into Greenville's first hotel(1815). He sold the property to Vardry McBee and moved to Alabama. This house was tom down in 1920 and Greenville High School was built on this site. 

7. JOHN WESLEY METHODIST CHURCH, 101 East Court Street 
 Built between 1899 and 1903, this two- story brick structure represents a local version of the Gothic Revival style in ecclesiastical architecture. This Church is the result of work by a black congregation organized after the Civil War by the Reverend J. R. Rosamund, who had been a "slave preacher" before the War. The building is basically cruciform in shape. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

8. DOWNTOWN BAPTIST CHURCH, West McBee Avenue 
 First Baptist church was originally started in Travelers Rest in 1788. When Vardry McBee donated a lot on the comer of McBee and Irvine Streets, a meeting house was built there in 1822 and in 1858 the church was constructed. Designed by Sloan and Stewart of Philadelphia it was used by the First Baptist ChUrch until the new Church was built on Cleveland Street. Some members of the church remained at this site and the new church was named the Downtown Baptist Church. 

9. CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 10 Noah Church Street 
 Organized in 1820, this is the first church of any denomination formed in Greenville. The founders were summer people. They wanted to worship as they did when at home. The original sanctuary on the same site was replaced by the present structure, whose cornerstone was laid in 1852. The Church is designed in a modified Gothic style with a cruciform shape. The spire rises 130 feet. The churchyard's burying ground is the final resting place for some notable local leaders including a former governor, Benjamin Franklin Perry, and Vardry McBee, the "Father of Greenville". 
The church is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

 10. KILGORE LEWIS HOUSE, 506 Academy Street 
 Josiah Kilgore built this house in the 1830's as a wedding present for his daughter. The wealthy cotton planter used slave labor to construct the two-story structure, which is made primarily of heart pine fastened with wooden pegs. Many of the home's original handblown windowpanes are still intact. The architectural design utilizes a Palladian style applied to what is basically an upcountry farmhouse. The house is currently the headquarters of the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs. The house was moved to its present site. Also on the grounds is the spring that once supplied the drinking water for Greenville. The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

11. BEATTIE HOUSE, 8 Bennett Street
The Beattie House was built in the 1830's by F. F. Beattie and his wife. The house did not originally have the two wings but they were added as the family grew in size. This house has been moved twice. The Greenville Woman's Club occupies the house, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

 12. WHITEHALL, 310 West Earl Street
 This large home, surrounded by majestic oaks, is generally considered to be the oldest home still standing in Greenville. It was built in 1813 as a summer home by Charlestonian Henry Middleton on land he had purchased from Elias E. Earle. Middleton was a governor of South Carolina (1810-1812) and owner of Middleton Gardens Plantation in Charleston. Whitehall utilizes a Barbadian style of architecture. This house is a private residence and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

 13. SPRINGWOOD CEMETERY, between Church and Main Streets
 Springwood began as a family cemetery for the Waddy Thompson family. Waddy's mother-in-law lived with him and had beautiful gardens in which she enjoyed working. When she died, Waddy decided that she would want to be buried in her garden. Eventually, this family cemetery became the public cemetery you see today.

14. JAMES STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT, James Street
 This land was also purchased by Elias Earle. Located at 107 James is one of the oldest homes in Greenville. Dates for this house vary from 1810-1826 but there are no historic records available to establish the date for this house.

 15. HAMPTON-PINCKNEY HISTORIC DISTRICT, Hampton and Pinckney streets
 This land area was called "old money" because it was land that was owned by Vardry McBee and many of his children built their homes here. The oldest house (21 Pinckney ) was built by William Pinckney McBee in the 1830's. The majority of the houses in this area date from the turn of the century and represent Victorian Style architecture. There are some bungalow-style homes in this area.

 16. HERITAGE GREEN, College Street
 This land area was owned by Vardry McBee, founding father of Greenville. In 1820 he gave land to the Male and Female Academies so there would be schools in Greenville. In 1855, the building and land were given to the Greenville Baptist Female College. This eventually became the Greenville Woman's College of the Woman's College of Furman University. When the Woman's College was moved to the new Furman Campus north of the city in the 1960' s, Furman planned to sell this land area; however, upon checking the original deed to the property, it was found that this land had to be used for cultural and educational purposes or it would revert to the McBee family. As a result, we have Heritage Green, which includes the Little Theater, the Greenville County Museum of Art, and the Greenville County Library.

 17. BOYCE LAWN AREA, Washington, Pettigru, Broadus Streets 
 This Land was originally owned by James Pettigru Boyce, a professor at Furman University Baptist Seminary and son of the second wealthiest cotton planter in South Carolina after Wade Hampton. Lots began to be sold in this area around the turn of the century and the district became known as "new money" because of the industrialists coming into Greenville built their homes here. 
The Poinsett Club at the intersection of Williams and Washington is located in one of the most outstanding homes. The home was built by Lewis W. Parker around 1900. Mr. Parker was head of the Lewis W. Parker Cotton Mill Company and gained considerable fame for his expertise in re-organizing cotton mills. Located at 104 Broadus is a Victorian style home for the late 1890's. This was the first home of Mr. Parker but it was too small. It is now one of the fine restaurants in the Upstate. 

 18. GREENVILLE COUNTY COURTHOUSES
 The fourth courthouse is located on Main Street at the square. It is shaped like a chair since Greenville is the county seat. This was the courthouse from 1918-1950. The fifth courthouse is our present courthouse. It is located on North Street at Church. It was built in 1950 and has recently been renovated. 

 19. BILO CENTER, East North at Church 
 This newly constructed arena sits on a portion of the site of old Greenville Memorial Auditorium. It is the largest enclosed arena that Greenville has ever had. The Center is the home of Greenville's new hockey team. 

 20. JOEL ROBERT POINSETT STATUE-(1779-1851), South Main Street: Statesman-Diplomat-Naturalist: Joel R. Poinsett founded the National Institute for the promotion of Sceince, forerunner of the Smithsonina Institute. He was our First Minister to Mexico and served as Secretary of War and as Congresssman. While serving as Minister to Mexico in 1825, Poinsett introduced to America a species of the Euphorbia pulcherrima plant later named Poinsettia in his honor. (Dedicated: 2001)

21. VARDRY MCBEE STATUE (1775-1864), South Main Street: Vardry McBee has been called the Father of Greenville because of his leadership and many contributions to the Greenville area. Entrepreneur-Philanthropist-Industralist. In 1815, Vardry McBee purchased extensive properties in Greenville from Lemuel Alston. McBee’s gifts to Greenville included lands for its first churches and the establishment of male and female Academies. He was instrumental in moving Furman University to Greenville and securing the area’s first railroad. The five churches he gave land and $500 worth of lumber to help start are First Baptist Church, First Presbyterian Church, Christ Church Episcopal, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, and Buncombe Street United Methodist Church. These contributions became known as McBee’s Tithe. (Dedicated 2002)

22. "SHOELESS" JOE JACKSON STATUE-Joseph Jefferson Jackson (1881-1951), West End, South Main Street, Greenville: In 1917 Shoeless Joe Jackson led the Chicago White Sox to a World Series Baseball victory against the New York Giants. Joe Jackson grew up playing baseball in West Greenville, South Carolina. By 1908 he was playing with the Greenville Spinners of the Class D Carolina League. During the first game of a doubleheader, Jackson played in new spikes that caused his feet to blister. In the 2nd game, with the Spinners at bat in the seventh inning, Jackson took off his spikes and walked to the batter’s box. No one noticed he had discarded his shoes until he cracked a hit. A local sportswriter tagged Jackson with the nickname “Shoeless Joe”. At the peak of his career with the Chicago White Sox team, Jackson and seven other teammates were implicated in a conspiracy to lose the 1919 World Series for a payoff. During the series, Jackson played flawless baseball. He had 12 hits (a world series record); no errors; the highest batting average (.375); accounted for 11 of 20 runs by the Sox; and hit the only home run in the series. Though tries and found innocent, all 8 players were banned from baseball for life. Until Jackson’s death in 1951, he steadfastly maintained his innocence. He continues to be one of the most publicized and beloved baseball players in the history of thr game.

23. MILITARY BASES

 CAMP SEVIER, Rutherford Road and West Lee Road 
This base was built hurriedly in 1917 to help America respond to the Allies' need for freshly trained troops for World War I. This camp was located 6 miles from Greenville and covered 1,900 acres. It included a hospital, drill grounds, bakery and barracks for the Army's 30th Infantry/Field Artillery Division. 80,000 men were trained here for World War I. Following basic training, soldiers were shipped from here to Charleston for combat in France. 

 DONALDSON AIR FORCE BASE, (Donaldson Center, Highway 25) 
Once the Airlift Capitol of the World, Donaldson too was build hurriedly to respond to the need for fresh troops for World War II. Pilots who trained here were sent to Europe to pilot B-52s in bombing raids over Germany. Built in 1941, Donaldson brought many "outsiders" to Greenville and was a financial boom to Greenville's postdepression economy. With cutbacks in the military, Donaldson was closed in 1963 but was later converted into an industrial site.