Greenville

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Greenville, Hunt County, Texas. Now settle in, because this town's got a story that starts with a name, a deed, and a man who took his sweet time filing the paperwork. In 1846, the Texas legislature created Hunt County and right then and there specified that the county seat would carry the name Greenville, honoring Thomas J.

Green, a veteran of the Texas War for Independence. So the name was settled before the dirt was even staked out. Voters ultimately chose this particular spot, on land donated by a Tennessee surveyor named McQuinney Howell Wright, and the townsite was platted in May of 1846.

The first lots went to auction the following January. Now here's where it gets interesting. Wright didn't officially file the deed conveying his land until March 22, 1850.

The town was already up and movin' before the paperwork caught up to it. That's a very Texas way to do things. The town incorporated in 1852, and Albert G.

Hamilton stepped in as its first mayor. Hunt County had its own particular character in those years. Unlike most of its north central Texas neighbors, Hunt County voted in favor of secession during the national crisis of the 1860s.

What followed was a hard stretch. Economic hardship, occasions of violence, and occupation by federal troops marked the Civil War and Reconstruction period in Greenville. Those weren't easy years, and the marker doesn't dress them up, so neither will I.

Then came October 1880, and with it, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad rolling into town. Now that was a watershed moment, the marker's own word, and it earns it. Cotton farmers suddenly had easier shipping access, and cotton production and processing grew into major economic activities.

New businesses came with the new energy. Banks, hotels, street cars. And here's a detail worth savoring: Greenville developed the state's first municipally owned electric utility.

First in all of Texas. The 20th century brought Majors Army Air Field and three colleges to the community. And sitting at the crossroads of major state and national highways, Greenville kept growing into an industrial and trade center for northeast Texas.

A town that began with a name on a legislative page, a surveyor's donation, and a deed filed four years late, ended up being exactly what its founders, in their unhurried way, seemed to have in mind all along.

What the marker says

In 1846, the Texas legislature created Hunt County and specified that Greenville would be the name of the county seat, honoring Texas War for Independence veteran Thomas J. Green. Voters ultimately selected this location, on land donated by Tennessee surveyor McQuinney Howell Wright, for the new community of Greenville. The townsite was platted in May 1846 and the first lots were sold at auction the following January, although Wright did not file the deed officially conveying his land until March 22, 1850. Albert G. Hamilton served as first mayor after the town incorporated in 1852. Unlike most north central Texas counties, Hunt County voted in favor of secession during the national crisis in the 1860s. Economic hardship, occasions of violence, and occupation by federal troops characterized the Civil War and Reconstruction period in Greenville. The arrival of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad in October 1880 was a watershed in Greenville's history. The railroad provided cotton farmers with easier shipping access, and cotton production and processing became major economic activities. New businesses and service industries, including banks, hotels, street cars, and the state's first municipally owned electric utility, developed to serve the growing community. Greenville was home to Majors Army Air Field and three colleges in the 20th century. Its location at the crossroads of major state and national highways helped Greenville develop over the years to become an industrial and trade center in northeast Texas. (2001)