Greenville, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Greenville is a city in Bond County
, Illinois
, United States
, 46 miles (74 km) east of St. Louis
. The estimated population as of July 2009 is 7,284. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
of Bond County
.
Greenville is home to Greenville College
, a private Free Methodist college.
, 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.
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 College was founded as Almira College in 1855. In 1941, college president H.J. Long "declared the founding of Almira and Greenville ran parallel, for both were founded on prayer
."
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 (it was demolished in 2008).
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.
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
, the junior Senator from Illinois elected as President in November 2008, also visited Greenville while campaigning for his Senate seat in 2004, in a visit hosted by the Bond County Democrats. Women in Bond County could vote for the first time in 1914.
On one of his tours across America in his motorhome, sportscaster John Madden stopped in Greenville and enjoyed his time at a truck stop so much that he declared it the "John Madden Hall of Fame." The truck stop
has since been torn down.
, Greenville is home to Bond County Community Unit #2 High School (usually known as Greenville High School
), home of the Comets. In 2007, the Comets made it to the Final Four in the IHSA
Class 3A state football playoffs and fell to the Columbia
Eagles 39-40. They again made it to the Final Four in 2009 to play Tolono Unity but again lost, 53-58. Students from the neighboring towns of Pocahontas
and Sorento
attend high school in Greenville.
Greenville Junior High, home of the Bluejays, and Greenville Elementary School, home of the Rockets, round out Greenville's local schools. As of the 2006 school year, Greenville Elementary was selected as a NASA
Explorer school.
From 2004 to 2007, Greenville also had a private Christian school, Greenville Christian Academy, run by Smith Grove Baptist Church. However, the school closed due to lack of enrollment in May 2007. Other nearby private school alternatives are Vandalia
Christian Academy and Mater Dei
in Breese
.
districts in the hopes of drawing more businesses. Greenville had been a "dry" town- with no alcohol
allowed to be sold within the city limits- until November 2008, when a referendum overturned the ban on alcohol, 1,646 to 850. The City Council had supported the vote overturning the ban, contending that the alcohol ban was preventing businesses from moving to Greenville and therefore blocking further economic development. Since the ban was lifted, the City Council has been approached about hosting a beer distributorship in the city.
Notable businesses in the town include Nevco Scoreboards, the largest privately held manufacturer of scoreboards in the world. DeMoulin Bros.http://www.demoulin.com/ is one of the world's largest makers of band uniforms; the company's collections were visited by the magician David Copperfield
.http://www.greenvilleusa.org/copperfield.htm Other large employers include Carlisle-Syntec, Bass-Mollett Publishers, and Federal Correctional Institution Greenville, a federal prison
.
In October 2006, Kansas
-based Alternative Energy Sources Incorporated announced that they would locate an ethanol
plant in Greenville. The plant will be built on 100 acre (0.404686 km²) in the John W. Kelsey Business & Technology Park.http://www.wgel.com/daily/2006/10-24.htm Nevco announced in late 2006 that it would move its headquarters from its location on Harris Avenue to an area within the Kelsey Technology Park.
Greenville Regional Hospital, called Utlaut Memorial Hospital until 2005, has consistently been ranked by Solucient as one of the top 100 best small hospitals in the nation. Greenville also has an assisted living facility, the Glenwood.
The town's media includes "The Best Country in the Country," radio station
WGEL, and the Greenville Advocate, a newspaper which is printed twice-weekly.
Greenville Airport
and Governor Bond
Lake
serve the hobbyists in the area.
Other historic business include shoe manufacturer Mayer and Bannister, cigar
manufacturers Thomas D. Scheske and H.H. Wirz, and 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 http://www.bradfordbank.com was founded in 1867 by James Bradford and his son, Samuel. While there are no official records attesting to the fact, it is believed that the bank was started with $10,000 in capital. The original Bank location was on the square in Greenville. The strong foundation the Bradford’s provided enabled the bank to withstand numerous threatening times, surviving when many other banks were forced to close their doors.
In 1910, the Bradford National Bank received its National Charter and the name was changed from Bradford and Son’s to Bradford National Bank. In 1967, the bank expanded to its present location in Greenville. Since that time, the bank has been expanded three times to accommodate the bank growth. In 1985, the bank opened its first branch location near the Greenville industrial park.
While Greenville once hosted three newspapers, The Item, The Sun, and The Advocate, it now has only the twice-weekly Advocate.
, a Christian music festival. It also plays host to the World Powered Parachute
Championships as "Chute-Out on the Prairie
."
Greenville conducts the Bond County Fair every August; 2007's events took place August 1–7. In 2008, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Moving Wall visited Greenville to coincide with the fair activities.
A large stone and plaque (placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution
) marks the place where Abraham Lincoln
and Stephen Douglas made speeches while running for the United States Senate
in 1858. The city unsuccessfully applied for a grant from the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
to buy the property on South Fifth Street where Lincoln spoke to create a small Lincoln park. A statue dedicated to county veterans of the Civil War
was dedicated on the courthouse lawn in 1903; the courthouse lawn has a Veterans' Memorial in honor of all county veterans.
Many Sears Catalog Home
s-houses made from kits bought from the Sears and Roebuck catalog- are dotted around the town.
Greenville College
is home to the only museum dedicated to the sculptures of Richard Bock
, who was an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright
and designed many of the sculptures for Wright-designed homes.
The American Farm Heritage Museum, a museum which aims to preserve agricultural history, is being built in Greenville. The museum will feature exhibits of tractors and other farm-related memorabilia and held an Outhouse Festival and a Fall Festival in October 2006. It held its third annual Heritage Days and was the largest Oliver Corp. equipment show in America in 2007, as the national Oliver show was held outside the US. In 2006, 500 tractor
s were on display for the event, and 5,000 people were in attendance. In 2008, the show was the site of the Cockshutt
international equipment show. the AFHM also has a 15 inch gage train going around it with approximately one mile of track.
Habitat for Humanity has a local Greenville chapter which has built four houses to date.
Many events are held by the hospital auxiliary to benefit Greenville Regional Hospital, including a book fair in June and a holiday bazaar in December, which has been held for 49 years. A Big Brother/Big Sister program runs through the Simple Room.
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.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 6,955 people, 2,019 households, and 1,280 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,337.0 people per square mile (516.4/km²). There were 2,171 housing units at an average density of 417.3 per square mile (161.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.40% White, 15.44% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.37% from other races
, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.46% of the population.
There were 2,019 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 15.9% under the age of 18, 18.1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 143.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 152.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,650, and the median income for a family was $45,557. Males had a median income of $26,105 versus $20,889 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $17,326. About 8.8% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Bond County, Illinois
Bond County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is part of the St. Louis Metro Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 17,768, which is an increase of 0.8% from 17,633 in 2000. Its county seat is Greenville, Illinois....
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 46 miles (74 km) east of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. The estimated population as of July 2009 is 7,284. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Bond County
Bond County, Illinois
Bond County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is part of the St. Louis Metro Area. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 17,768, which is an increase of 0.8% from 17,633 in 2000. Its county seat is Greenville, Illinois....
.
Greenville is home to Greenville College
Greenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
, a private Free Methodist college.
History
Greenville had its first Federal Post Office built in 1819. Greenville 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 CarolinaGreenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
, which had been named after Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
. 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.
During the 1840s, some Bond County residents conducted slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. Slaves were often spirited from Missouri, sometimes through Carlyle
Carlyle, Illinois
Carlyle is a city in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,406 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County.Carlyle is located approximately 50 miles east of St...
to Bond County. Rev. John Leeper was able to disguise his Underground Railroad activities due to his milling business. Dr. Henry Perrine
Henry Perrine
Henry Perrine was a physician, horticulturist, United States Consul in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico, and an enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into cultivation in the United States....
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 College was founded as Almira College in 1855. In 1941, college president H.J. Long "declared the founding of Almira and Greenville ran parallel, for both were founded on prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
."
When Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Stephen Douglas gave speeches in Greenville in 1858 during a campaign for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, 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
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American Independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House , the bell was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack in 1752, and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY...
passed through Greenville on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
in San Francisco. After that trip, the Liberty Bell returned to Pennsylvania and will not be moved again.
The Greenville Public Library
Greenville Public Library
The Greenville Public Library is located in the Bond County, Illinois city of Greenville. The Greenville Public Library was built in 1905 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.-History:...
was established as a Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
and is on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Hogue Hall at Greenville College also appeared on the National Register (it was demolished in 2008).
On April 18, 1934, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, 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.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
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
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the junior Senator from Illinois elected as President in November 2008, also visited Greenville while campaigning for his Senate seat in 2004, in a visit hosted by the Bond County Democrats. Women in Bond County could vote for the first time in 1914.
On one of his tours across America in his motorhome, sportscaster John Madden stopped in Greenville and enjoyed his time at a truck stop so much that he declared it the "John Madden Hall of Fame." The truck stop
Truck stop
A truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to motorists and truck drivers...
has since been torn down.
Education
In addition to Greenville CollegeGreenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
, Greenville is home to Bond County Community Unit #2 High School (usually known as Greenville High School
Greenville High School (Greenville, Illinois)
Greenville High School, official name Bond County Community Unit #2 High School, is a high school for grades 9-12 students located in Greenville, Illinois...
), home of the Comets. In 2007, the Comets made it to the Final Four in the IHSA
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
Class 3A state football playoffs and fell to the Columbia
Columbia High School (Columbia, Illinois)
Columbia High School is a public high school in Columbia, Illinois. It is part of Columbia Community Unit School District 4.-Mission:"The mission of Columbia High School is to provide a quality educational program that encourages educational excellence in a safe environment and prepares students...
Eagles 39-40. They again made it to the Final Four in 2009 to play Tolono Unity but again lost, 53-58. Students from the neighboring towns of Pocahontas
Pocahontas, Illinois
Pocahontas is a village in Bond County, Illinois, United States. The population was 727 at the 2000 census. Pocahontas is the hometown of country music singer Gretchen Wilson and also the hometown of alt-country noise rockers Grandpa's Ghost.-History:...
and Sorento
Sorento, Illinois
Sorento is a village in Bond County, Illinois, United States. The population was 601 at the 2000 census.-History:Sorento was incorporated as a village in 1885....
attend high school in Greenville.
Greenville Junior High, home of the Bluejays, and Greenville Elementary School, home of the Rockets, round out Greenville's local schools. As of the 2006 school year, Greenville Elementary was selected as a NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Explorer school.
From 2004 to 2007, Greenville also had a private Christian school, Greenville Christian Academy, run by Smith Grove Baptist Church. However, the school closed due to lack of enrollment in May 2007. Other nearby private school alternatives are Vandalia
Vandalia, Illinois
Vandalia is a city in Fayette County, Illinois, United States, northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. From 1819 to 1839 it served as the state capital of Illinois. Vandalia was the western terminus of the National Road. Today it is the county seat of Fayette County and the home of the...
Christian Academy and Mater Dei
Mater Dei High School (Breese, Illinois)
Mater Dei High School is a Catholic, co-educational high school in Breese, Illinois in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Belleville. It was founded in 1954 through the merger of St. Dominic’s High School in Breese and St...
in Breese
Breese, Illinois
Breese is a large town in Clinton County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,221 which the majority are of German ancestry.-History:...
.
Local businesses
Greenville has passed laws providing for two Tax increment financingTax increment financing
Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is a public financing method which has been used as a subsidy for redevelopment and community improvement projects in many countries including the United States for more than 50 years...
districts in the hopes of drawing more businesses. Greenville had been a "dry" town- with no alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
allowed to be sold within the city limits- until November 2008, when a referendum overturned the ban on alcohol, 1,646 to 850. The City Council had supported the vote overturning the ban, contending that the alcohol ban was preventing businesses from moving to Greenville and therefore blocking further economic development. Since the ban was lifted, the City Council has been approached about hosting a beer distributorship in the city.
Notable businesses in the town include Nevco Scoreboards, the largest privately held manufacturer of scoreboards in the world. DeMoulin Bros.http://www.demoulin.com/ is one of the world's largest makers of band uniforms; the company's collections were visited by the magician David Copperfield
David Copperfield (illusionist)
David Copperfield is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist, and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield's network specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards and won a total of 21 Emmys...
.http://www.greenvilleusa.org/copperfield.htm Other large employers include Carlisle-Syntec, Bass-Mollett Publishers, and Federal Correctional Institution Greenville, a federal prison
Federal prison
Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.In the United States federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these...
.
In October 2006, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
-based Alternative Energy Sources Incorporated announced that they would locate an ethanol
Ethanol
Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
plant in Greenville. The plant will be built on 100 acre (0.404686 km²) in the John W. Kelsey Business & Technology Park.http://www.wgel.com/daily/2006/10-24.htm Nevco announced in late 2006 that it would move its headquarters from its location on Harris Avenue to an area within the Kelsey Technology Park.
Greenville Regional Hospital, called Utlaut Memorial Hospital until 2005, has consistently been ranked by Solucient as one of the top 100 best small hospitals in the nation. Greenville also has an assisted living facility, the Glenwood.
The town's media includes "The Best Country in the Country," radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
WGEL, and the Greenville Advocate, a newspaper which is printed twice-weekly.
Greenville Airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
and Governor Bond
Shadrach Bond
Shadrach Bond was a representative from Illinois Territory to the United States Congress. In 1818, he was elected the first Governor of Illinois, becoming the new state's first chief executive...
Lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
serve the hobbyists in the area.
Historical businesses
Historic Greenville businesses 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 in Greenville its research and testing center. 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 Chemical in the 1990s and are now operated by its Covidien division to make medical supplies.Other historic business include shoe manufacturer Mayer and Bannister, cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
manufacturers Thomas D. Scheske and H.H. Wirz, and 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 http://www.bradfordbank.com was founded in 1867 by James Bradford and his son, Samuel. While there are no official records attesting to the fact, it is believed that the bank was started with $10,000 in capital. The original Bank location was on the square in Greenville. The strong foundation the Bradford’s provided enabled the bank to withstand numerous threatening times, surviving when many other banks were forced to close their doors.
In 1910, the Bradford National Bank received its National Charter and the name was changed from Bradford and Son’s to Bradford National Bank. In 1967, the bank expanded to its present location in Greenville. Since that time, the bank has been expanded three times to accommodate the bank growth. In 1985, the bank opened its first branch location near the Greenville industrial park.
While Greenville once hosted three newspapers, The Item, The Sun, and The Advocate, it now has only the twice-weekly Advocate.
Events
Greenville is the site of the annual Agape Music FestivalAgape Music Festival
AgapeFest is an annual, Christian music festival in Greenville, IL. It features many Christian musicians and some of today's top Christian bands. The festival is sponsored by nearby Greenville College and has been student-run since its inception in 1977...
, a Christian music festival. It also plays host to the World Powered Parachute
Powered parachute
A powered parachute is a parachute with motor and wheels. The aircraft's airspeed is typically about 25–35 mph . PPCs operate safely at heights ranging from a few feet off the ground to altitudes as high as 18,000+ feet...
Championships as "Chute-Out on the Prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
."
Greenville conducts the Bond County Fair every August; 2007's events took place August 1–7. In 2008, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Moving Wall visited Greenville to coincide with the fair activities.
Notable people
- Job Adams CooperJob Adams CooperJob Adams Cooper was a U.S. Republican Party politician. He served as the sixth Governor of the State of Colorado from 1889 to 1891.-Early life:...
, sixth governor of ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, from Greenville. - Gerald GreiderGerald GreiderGerald Arthur Greider was an American Republican politician from Wisconsin.Born in Greenville, Illinois, Greider was educated in the public schools in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Greider was a businessman and served on the La Crosse Common Council 1966-1968. Greider was vice president and secretary of a...
, Wisconsin legislator - Alfred Harrison JoyAlfred Harrison JoyAlfred Harrison Joy was an astronomer best known for his work on stellar distances, the radial motion of stars, and variable stars.-Early years:...
, notable astronomer, the son of the former Greenville mayor and merchant F.P. Joy. - Edwin G. KrebsEdwin G. Krebs-External links:*Hughes, R. 1998. *Krebs, E.G. * *...
, a Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winning biochemist, lived in Greenville from the age of six to 15. - Tom MerrittTom MerrittThomas Andrew "Tom" Merritt is a technology journalist and broadcaster who hosts a daily show on Leo Laporte's TWiT.tv Netcast Network Tech News Today...
, executive editor on the TWIT network, born in Greenville. - Dr. Henry PerrineHenry PerrineHenry Perrine was a physician, horticulturist, United States Consul in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico, and an enthusiast for introducing tropical plants into cultivation in the United States....
, noted horticulturalistHorticultureHorticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
, lived in Greenville where he met his wife. Practiced medicine there five years in the 1820s. - Dr. Robert E. "Ish" SmithRobert Smith (baseball)Dr. Robert E. "Ish" Smith, , is the former President of the International Baseball Federation, which is the international governing body for the sport of baseball, and the United States Baseball Federation....
, was president of the IBAFInternational Baseball FederationThe International Baseball Federation is the worldwide governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee as overseeing, deciding and executing the policy of the bat-and-ball sport of baseball at the international level...
(1981 to 1993) and the United States Baseball Federation (1981 to 1990), former president of Greenville CollegeGreenville CollegeGreenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
. - Manuel VelazquezManuel VelazquezManuel Velazquez was a 20th-century anti-boxing activist who kept meticulous files on boxing-related deaths.-Early life:...
, anti-boxing activist, retired in Greenville and died there in 1994. - Howard ZahniserHoward ZahniserHoward Clinton Zahniser was an American environmental activist. Zahniser is noted for being the primary author of the Wilderness Act of 1964....
, environmental activist, attended Greenville College and later wrote the Wilderness ActWilderness ActThe Wilderness Act of 1964 was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected some 9 million acres of federal land. The result of a long effort to protect federal wilderness, the Wilderness Act was signed...
of 1964. - Gretchen WilsonGretchen WilsonGretchen Frances Wilson is an American country music artist. She made her debut in 2004 with the Grammy Award-winning single "Redneck Woman," a number-one hit on the Billboard country charts. The song served as the lead-off single of her debut album, Here for the Party...
, country music star, attended Greenville High SchoolGreenville High School (Greenville, Illinois)Greenville High School, official name Bond County Community Unit #2 High School, is a high school for grades 9-12 students located in Greenville, Illinois...
Greenville College bands
- AugustanaAugustana (band)Augustana is an American rock band from San Diego, California who are signed to the Epic Records record label. They are best known for their singles, "Boston" and "Sweet and Low."-Beginning years:...
, rock band, membership was formed at Greenville CollegeGreenville CollegeGreenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
. - Jars of ClayJars of ClayJars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
, christian rock band, membership was formed at Greenville CollegeGreenville CollegeGreenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
. - Paper RoutePaper Route (band)Paper Route is an American Indie rock band from Nashville, Tennessee formed in 2004. The band's self-titled debut EP was released on August 29, 2006.-History:...
Indie-Rock band, membership was formed at Greenville CollegeGreenville CollegeGreenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
.
Places of interest
Greenville is notable for its old-fashioned downtown and many antique shops.A large stone and plaque (placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution
Daughters of the American Revolution
The Daughters of the American Revolution is a lineage-based membership organization for women who are descended from a person involved in United States' independence....
) marks the place where Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
and Stephen Douglas made speeches while running for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1858. The city unsuccessfully applied for a grant from the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission
The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission was the Congressionally created 14-member federal commission focused on planning and commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States' 16th president on February 12, 2009. The commission served for ten years, from 2000 to 2010...
to buy the property on South Fifth Street where Lincoln spoke to create a small Lincoln park. A statue dedicated to county veterans of the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
was dedicated on the courthouse lawn in 1903; the courthouse lawn has a Veterans' Memorial in honor of all county veterans.
Many Sears Catalog Home
Sears Catalog Home
Sears Catalog Homes were ready-to-assemble kit houses sold through mail order by Sears, Roebuck and Company, an American retailer. Over 70,000 of these were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. Shipped via railroad boxcars, these kits included all the materials needed to build a house...
s-houses made from kits bought from the Sears and Roebuck catalog- are dotted around the town.
Greenville College
Greenville College
Greenville College is located in Greenville, Illinois, a small Illinois city, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70...
is home to the only museum dedicated to the sculptures of Richard Bock
Richard Bock
Richard W. Bock was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright.He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials, along with the work he conducted alongside Wright....
, who was an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and designed many of the sculptures for Wright-designed homes.
The American Farm Heritage Museum, a museum which aims to preserve agricultural history, is being built in Greenville. The museum will feature exhibits of tractors and other farm-related memorabilia and held an Outhouse Festival and a Fall Festival in October 2006. It held its third annual Heritage Days and was the largest Oliver Corp. equipment show in America in 2007, as the national Oliver show was held outside the US. In 2006, 500 tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s were on display for the event, and 5,000 people were in attendance. In 2008, the show was the site of the Cockshutt
Henry Cockshutt
Henry Cockshutt was the 13th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada.Born in Brantford, Ontario, a son of Ignatius Cockshutt and Elizabeth Foster, he started in the family business, Cockshutt Plow Company, in 1884, becoming treasurer in 1888, secretary-treasurer in 1891, and President in 1911...
international equipment show. the AFHM also has a 15 inch gage train going around it with approximately one mile of track.
Volunteer activities
Greenville hosts many volunteer activities, notably those benefiting local schools, churches or Greenville Regional Hospital.Habitat for Humanity has a local Greenville chapter which has built four houses to date.
Many events are held by the hospital auxiliary to benefit Greenville Regional Hospital, including a book fair in June and a holiday bazaar in December, which has been held for 49 years. A Big Brother/Big Sister program runs through the Simple Room.
Government
Greenville has had a mayor and city council form of government since 1957. The first mayor, James Bradford, was elected in 1873. He was the owner of Bradford and Son bank, which is still in existence as Bradford National Bank. The current mayor of Greenville is Alan Gaffner.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.
Geography
Greenville is located at 38°53′22"N 89°24′13"W (38.889537, -89.403618).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,955 people, 2,019 households, and 1,280 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,337.0 people per square mile (516.4/km²). There were 2,171 housing units at an average density of 417.3 per square mile (161.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.40% White, 15.44% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.37% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.46% of the population.
There were 2,019 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the city the population was spread out with 15.9% under the age of 18, 18.1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 143.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 152.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,650, and the median income for a family was $45,557. Males had a median income of $26,105 versus $20,889 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $17,326. About 8.8% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
See also
- Phyllis HolmesPhyllis HolmesPhyllis Holmes was a longtime basketball coach for Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois. She also served as an assistant women's Olympic coach for USA Basketball....
- Ron StephensRon StephensRon Stephens is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 102nd district since 1993. He is currently the Assistant Republican Leader in the state House. The district includes portions of Bond County, Madison County, Effingham County, Fayette County and St. Clair...
- Frank Watson (politician)
- Tom MerrittTom MerrittThomas Andrew "Tom" Merritt is a technology journalist and broadcaster who hosts a daily show on Leo Laporte's TWiT.tv Netcast Network Tech News Today...