With South Carolina having such a historical past, it may come as no surprise that our area is no different. In driving around the area you’ll notice several historical signs, street names, and landmarks you might be interested in learning more about.

It will come as no surprise that Eastern Greenville County’s past was heavily influenced by agriculture and the addition of the railroad to the area.

Here are a few facts about the area you might find interesting; did you know?

• Line Street in Greer.

  • Long before Greer existed, early settlers and Cherokee Indians farmed and hunted around rivers and streams. When the Indian Boundary Line was drawn in 1761, the eastern side of the line (Spartanburg County) was deeded to the South Carolina Providence. The Indian Boundary Line was what is now Line Street in Greer.

• Civil War times

  • While unrest was definitely part of our areas history, the level of destruction wasn’t as high in our area as the lower part of the state. Primarily because of our distance from the major battle sights, the area was spared by Sherman’s march.

• Pelham Mill and Taylor’s Mill

  • While both mills were textile mills, they served very different purposes and were separated by about 100 years in history. Pelham Mill (1820-1935) was originally the Buena Vista Factory for producing textiles (this is what Buena Vista Elementary was named after). Taylors Mill (1924-1952) was the site of the Southern Bleachery and Print Works which was involved in dying.

    • If you drive by the neighborhood of Pelham Falls, you’ll notice Ebenezer United Methodist Church and a very old cemetery. Rev. Hutchings of this church, originally purchased 300 acres in 1819 to start Greenville County’s first textile mill; this became Pelham Mill.

• Greer Station and Greer Depot

  • Greer owes its history to the railroad.

    • James Manning Greer initially traded a few acres of his farm for a wagon and team of mules to the Southern Railroad. The train station became known as Greer Station. As the first area post office was located in the station, the postmark read “Greer’s Depot”.

    • As the second train lines came through the area (Piedmont and Northern), the area began to grow as it was a hub for transporting textiles, peaches and tomatoes.

• Trade Street in Greer

  • Like many towns, Trade Street was named so due to the businesses located throughout (Main street was typically residential). Trade Street became especially popular during the 1950’s drawing shoppers from neighboring Greenville and Spartanburg.