History

Glimpses of Greenville: 1790 to 1800 — Planning the Village of Pleasantburg

The only person to put a home in the immediate area of Reedy Falls was Lemuel J. Alston.

This historic inn witnessed the birth of Travelers Rest. Now it’s being preserved for future generations

The Spring Park Inn house, with its exposed end chimney and full-width front porch, was originally built sometime before 1820 by Aquilla Bradley.

Day in the life: Dana Thorpe, CEO of the Upcountry History Museum

Dana Thorpe has been at the Upcountry History Museum since 2013.

When the Reedy River was extra warehouse space

Business grew briskly over the next decades

Seven Oaks reserves a special place in many restaurant-lovers’ hearts

As competition grew and tastes changed, a 19-year tradition of dining at Seven Oaks ended in early 2002.

The Imperial was South Carolina’s largest hotel

Timing and location of the hotel could not have been better. Within a few years, one of America’s largest events, The Textile Exposition, came to town with thousands upon thousands of people visiting and needing a bed.

Greenville’s pioneering tea plantation

Early colonists copied the British love and custom for afternoon tea, though all of the leaves were imported.

A toast to Greenville’s early winemaking history

The city’s first vineyard was started by the Garrauxs, a Swiss immigrant family of 11, who planted about 1 ½ acres of grapes just over a mile from downtown Greenville.

Remembering Greenville’s Five Points

Today Greenvillians are familiar with the Simpsonville area called Five Forks, where Batesville, Scuffletown, South Bennettsville and Five Forks roads all intersect near each other. The name Five Points will be much less familiar to locals, but it was once a primary downtown destination.