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The
Greenville Tribune

Cherokees Cede Land to South Carolina

By Michael

Greenville County is part of the old Cherokee hunting grounds. White men were strictly forbidden in the area. The Cherokees finally ceded, or gave up the land to South Carolina in 1777. A white settler by the name of Richard Pearis came to Greenville County in 1765. He was the first settler present here in Greenville. He married a Cherokee woman and was honored by the Indians. The Cherokee tribe gave him ten square miles of land. Pearis estate is called "Great Plains." On part of this estate now stands Greenville and Paris Mountain. Paris Mountain is named after Richard Pearis but when naming the mountain, it was spelled differently. Finally, Greenville County was established in 1784. Thousands of settlers migrated to the area.

 

The
Greenville Tribune

Land Contributor Named "Father of Greenville"

By Michael

McBee is known as "The Father of Greenville." He contributed to the land of the first four churches and the first academies. He was a constructive thinker and erected one of our earliest cotton mills. He moved Furman University from Edgefield to Greenville in 1851 and secured the first railroad for Greenville in 1853. The railroad went from Columbia to Greenville. They soon realized that the Reedy River could furnish the power needed for iron works, corn, and cotton mills.

The
Greenville Tribune

Greenville's Name Remains a Mystery

By Michael

The derivation, or origin of Greenville County's name is said to come from an honored General in the Revolutionary War by the name of Nathanael Greene. It is also said to come from Isaac Green, an early settler. Greenville's derivation still remains a mystery till this day.

 

The
Greenville Tribune

Alston Comes to Greenville

By Michael

In 1788, Lemuel J. Alston came to Greenville County. He bought four hundred acres and laid out a town called Pleasantburg. He built a mansion to attract settlers to the area. He also thought that the mountains, the possibility of cotton, and a future mill would attract them also. In 1816 Alston sold his holding to Vardry McBee.

 

The
Greenville
Tribune

Pleasantburg Renamed

By Michael

Robert Mills contributed to the community with its two taverns and its new courthouse. Pleasantburg, the main town in Greenville County then had 500 inhabitants. Citizen's then wished their county seat (the city with the county government) to bear the name of Greenville. In 1831, Pleasantburg then became known as the city of Greenville. Camperdown Mills took the young people's favorite swimming hole across from Pearis's old mill.

 

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League Academy of Communication Arts
2002