Greenville, Illinois
Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, east of St. Louis. The population as of the 2020 census was 7,083, up from 7,000 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Bond County.
Greenville is part of the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also considered part of the Metro East region of Illinois.
Greenville celebrated its Bicentennial in 2015 as one of the oldest communities in Illinois. It is home to Greenville University, the Richard Bock Museum, the American Farm Heritage Museum, the Armed Forces Museum and the Demoulin Museum and a federal prison, Federal Correctional Institution, Greenville. It is also home to internationally known companies, including Nevco Scoreboard, the largest privately owned scoreboard company in the world, and DeMoulin Brothers, the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of band uniforms.
History
Greenville was founded by George Davidson in 1815 in what was then the Illinois Territory, when he purchased along the bluff overlooking Little Shoal Creek, in what was then still part of Madison County. Davidson built a tavern near the present-day intersection of Main and Sixth streets, and by 1816 he was selling individual lots. The federal government established its first federal post office in Greenville in 1819. It was incorporated as a town in 1855 and as a city in 1872. At one time, it had neighborhoods called New Jerusalem, Piety Hill, Cobtown, and Buzzard Roost. A few possible reasons have been put forth for the naming of the town. Some think the town was named after Greenville, North Carolina, which had been named after Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Others say that Greenville was named by early settler Thomas White because it was "so green and nice". A third possibility is that Greenville was named after Green P. Rice, the town's first merchant.Greenville became the county seat of Bond County in 1821. The earlier seat of Perryville was annexed into Fayette County when it was formed from part of Bond County, requiring the naming of a new seat. Davidson offered to give the county government land around the present-day town square. His offer was accepted, and a courthouse was built in 1821 on the site of the current courthouse.
During the 1840s, some Bond County residents conducted slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Slaves were often spirited from Missouri, sometimes through Carlyle to Bond County. Rev. John Leeper was able to disguise his Underground Railroad activities due to his milling business. Dr. Henry Perrine practiced medicine near Greenville and helped with the secret railroad activities. Rev. George Denny's house was found in the 1930s to conceal a secret chamber that had been used in the Railroad.
Greenville University was founded as Almira College, a women's college, in 1855. Former GU history professor Donald Jordahl has written that Almira College was "one of the earliest extensions westward of an eastern idea favorable toward female education, an early step in the women's suffrage and liberation movement." In 1941, college president H.J. Long "declared the founding of Almira and Greenville ran parallel, for both were founded on prayer." Women in Bond County could vote for the first time in 1914.
When Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas gave speeches in Greenville in 1858 during a campaign for the United States Senate, Douglas said: "Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great and supreme gratification and pleasure to see this vast concourse of people assembled to hear me upon this my first visit to Old Bond." The Illinois State Register reported of the occasion: "I've seen many gatherings in Old Bond county but I never saw anything equal to this and I never expect to."
On November 21, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed through Greenville on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania from the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. After that trip, the Liberty Bell returned to Pennsylvania and will not be moved again.
The Greenville Public Library was established as a Carnegie library and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hogue Hall at Greenville College also appeared on the National Register.
On April 18, 1934, during the Great Depression, a group of 500 protesters marched to the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission to lodge complaints about the delivery of emergency supplies from the state and federal governments.
Illinois native Ronald Reagan visited Greenville on the campaign trail in 1980 and gave a speech on the street in front of the courthouse; his visit is commemorated by a plaque. Barack Obama visited Greenville while campaigning for his Senate seat in 2004, in a visit hosted by the Bond County Democrats.
Historic businesses
While Greenville once hosted three newspapers, The Item, The Sun, and The Advocate, it now has only the twice-weekly Greenville Advocate. The Advocate is the oldest business in Bond County and one of the oldest newspapers in Illinois. Original Advocate owner Jediah Alexander was friends with Abraham Lincoln and instrumental in bringing Lincoln to Greenville for a visit.Historic Greenville businesses also include the Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, which later became the Pet Milk Company. The condensing plant, built in 1899, was the oldest in the world for many years until it was torn down in the early 1990s. Pet also maintained its research and testing center in Greenville. Many products. including Instant Pet, Pet-Ritz pies, Sego diet foods, and Old El Paso products were developed there, along with the first use of food irradiation to increase the Vitamin D content of milk. The remaining research buildings and warehouses were sold to Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in the 1990s, which continues to operate there today.
Other historic businesses in Greenville included shoe manufacturer Mayer and Bannister, cigar manufacturers Thomas D. Scheske and H.H. Wirz, and a glove factory, the Greenville Glove Manufacturing Co. In the early 1900s, Greenville had its own power company, Greenville Electric Gas and Power Company, which later was bought by Illinois Power and Light Service.
The Watson family operated a pharmacy in Greenville for over 125 years, since 1881; it was sold in 2006, but still maintains the name Watson's Drug Store. Greenville once had a silent movie theatre, the Lyric, and now has a first-run movie theatre, the Globe.
Bradford National Bank was founded in 1867 by James Bradford and his son Samuel and was originally known as the Banking House of Bradford and Sons. In 1910, the bank received its national charter to become Bradford National Bank. In 2017, the bank celebrated its 150th anniversary and is the 10th oldest bank in Illinois.
Today, the bank has locations in Greenville, Highland, and Marine, Illinois.
Geography
Greenville is located near the center of Bond County. U.S. Route 40 and Interstate 70 pass to the south of downtown, both highways leading west to St. Louis and east to Vandalia.Greenville is also located on Illinois Route 127, which is a major north–south route connecting Southern Illinois to Springfield.
The National Road passes through Greenville. East of Greenville it follows Illinois Route 140, and west it follows U.S. Route 40. Its route west of town was the source of a historic controversy. Original plans were to connect Greenville to St. Louis. However, the Illinois General Assembly preferred a route to Alton to favor an Illinois city directly on the Mississippi River. When federal money for the road ran out in 1840 at Vandalia, 19 miles east of Greenville, the State Legislature refused to fund it further. Residents of Greenville, Highland, Troy, and Collinsville paid to complete the road to East St. Louis. The "State Policy" of favoring Alton over St. Louis remained a major political issue in Illinois until the Civil War.
According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Greenville has a total area of, all land.
Demographics
As of the 2020 census there were 7,083 people, 2,351 households, and 1,222 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 2,403 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 75.35% White, 13.84% African American, 0.47% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 4.62% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.54% of the population.There were 2,351 households, out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.17% were married couples living together, 11.87% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.02% were non-families. 36.62% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.27% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 2.10.
The city's age distribution consisted of 14.8% under the age of 18, 15.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 130.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,625, and the median income for a family was $59,271. Males had a median income of $29,233 versus $25,985 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,551. About 10.0% of families and 20.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.5% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The first mayor of Greenville, James Bradford, was elected in 1873. He was the owner of Bradford and Son bank, which is still in existence today as Bradford National Bank. Bradford later went on to serve in the Illinois Legislature.During the first half of the 20th century, the Anti-Saloon Party was a player in local politics, with aldermen and mayors being elected from the ticket in 1911, 1913, 1917, and 1953. After the 1953 election, a "city manager" style of government was voted in, which provided for non-partisan city council members.
Greenville has had a mayor and city council form of government since 1957. Fire services are provided by the Greenville Fire Protection District.