Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

“G” is for Greenwood

“G” is for Greenwood (Greenwood County; 2020 population 23,356). In 1850 the village of Woodville's name was changed to Greenwood and the town was incorporated in 1857. After the Civil War, Greenwood became a bustling railroad town. The local economy, based on agriculture and transportation, was altered dramatically in 1890 with the opening of the Greenwood Cotton Mill. The town emerged as a center of textile manufacturing under the leadership of James C. Self, John P. Abney, and F. E. Grier. Greenwood experienced significant growth in the last decade of the nineteenth century particularly after the town became the seat of Greenwood County in 1897. The South Carolina Festival of Flowers continues to be named one of the Southeast Tourism Society's "Top Twenty Events". Greenwood is also home to the Greenwood Genetic Center, an internationally-acclaimed medical research facility.

Stay Connected
Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.