Greenville is the county
seat of Pitt County
and principal city of the Greenville, North
Carolina Metropolitan
Statistical 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. In
January 2008, Greenville was named one of the nation’s “100 Best
Communities for Young People” by the America’s Promise Alliance. In
March 2008, Greenville was ranked in the top ten of the nation's
"Best Places For Business And Careers" by Forbes Magazine. In 2004,
Greenville was named Sportstown USA for the state of North Carolina
by
Sports Illustrated and the
National Parks & Recreation Association. The city is also known
as "BMX Pro Town USA" , as it is home for many top professional
BMX riders.The city's official
population estimate as of July 1, 2008 is 79,629
residents. The Greenville Metro Area includes 172,473 people.
It is the
home of East Carolina
University
and Pitt
County Memorial Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in North
Carolina and employs over 6,000 people.
History
Founding
Greenville was founded in 1771 as "Martinsborough," after the Royal
Governor
Josiah Martin.
In 1774 the town was
moved to its present location on the south bank of the Tar River
, three miles (5 km) west of its original
site. In 1786, the name was changed to Greenesville in honor
of General
Nathanael Greene, the
American Revolutionary
War hero, and later shortened to Greenville.
19th century
During
Greenville’s early years, the Tar River
was a navigable waterway; and by the 1860’s there
were several established riverboat lines transporting passengers
and goods. Cotton was the leading
agricultural crop, and Greenville became a major cotton export
center. Before the turn of the century, however,
tobacco surpassed cotton and became the leading
money crop. Greenville became one of the state’s leading tobacco
marketing and warehouse centers.
20th century
For over a century, Greenville was recognized only for being an
important
tobacco market and the home of a
small state-supported college. By the mid 1960’s, East Carolina
Teachers College had become the third largest state-supported
college, and enrollment approached 8,000 students--twice the 1960
enrollment figure.
In 1967, it became East Carolina
University
. The
ECU Medical
School admitted its first four-year class in 1977. At the turn
of the century, enrollment at ECU topped the 18,000 mark, and now
exceeds 27,500 students.
Greenville’s current economic development began in 1968 when
Burroughs Wellcome, a major
pharmaceutical research and manufacturing firm, chose Greenville as
its home. The site is now owned by
DSM
Pharmaceuticals, which employs approximately 1,400 people. The
city and Pitt County have also become home to many other major
industries and businesses including
Harper
Brush,
NACCO Materials Handling Group,
Grady-White Boats, and ASMO.
Hurricane Floyd
In September 1999,
Hurricane Floyd
made landfall in eastern North Carolina, dropping nearly of rain
during the hours of its passage. Many residents weren’t aware of
the flooding until the water came into their homes.
Most localized
flooding happened overnight, and the Tar River
suffered the worst flooding, exceeding 500-year
flood levels along its lower stretches.
Damages in
Pitt County alone were
estimated at $1.6 billion (1999 USD, $1.87 billion 2006 USD). Some
residents in Greenville had to swim six feet underwater to reach
the front doors of their homes and apartments.
Due to the heavy
flooding in downtown Greenville, the East Carolina Pirates were forced to
relocate their football game against #9 Miami
to N.C.
State's Carter-Finley Stadium
in Raleigh
where they beat the Hurricanes 27-23.
Geography
Greenville is located at (35.601613, -77.372366).
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
26.3 square miles (68.0 km²), of which, 25.6 square
miles (66.3 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles
(1.8 km²) of it (2.59%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2007, there are 172,473
residents in the Greenville MSA, 130,204 households, and 110,997
residents residing within five miles (8 km) of the city limit.
The
population density was
2,364.6 people per square mile (912.8/km²). There are 130,204
housing units at an average density of 1,100.4/sq mi
(424.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.20%
White, 32.14%
African American, 0.80%
Native American, 1.82%
Asian, 0.04%
Pacific Islander, 1.01% from
other races, and 1.29%
from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 5.06% of the
population.
There were 25,204 households out of which 23.0% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 30.8% were
married couples living together, 13.8% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 52.4% were non-families.
35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city the
population was spread out
with 18.8% under the age of 18, 28.7% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25
to 44, 15.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or
older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there
were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were
82.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,648, and the
median income for a family was $44,491. Males had a median income
of $31,847 versus $26,324 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$18,476. About 15.6% of families and 26.1% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 24.1%
of those under age 18 and 20.4% of those age 65 or over.
Religion
As with
most of North
Carolina
, Greenville
is predominately Christian protestant with large concentrations of Baptists, Methodists, and
various other evangelical
groups. Episcopalians,
Presbyterians, and
Disciples of Christ also constitute a
significant portion of the population.
The
Roman Catholic community in
Greenville has seen steady growth over the years with the migration
of hispanic workers to the area along with
persons from the northeastern United States
who work for East Carolina University
and the Pitt County Memorial
Hospital. St. Peter's Catholic Church in Greenville
supports a day school for grades K-8.
Over the years, Greenville's
Jewish community
has seen continued growth.
Congregation Bayt Shalom, a congregation
affiliated with both Reform Judaism
and Conservative Judaism, has
around 80 member families and is led by the first African-American female rabbi in the
United
States
, Alysa
Stanton.
Education
Elementary schools
- Belvoir Elementary School
- Chicod Elementary School
- Creekside Elementary School
- Eastern Elementary School
- Elmhurst Elementary School
- Falkland Elementary School
- G.R. Whitfield Elementary School
- Northwest Elementary School
- Pactolus Elementary School
- Ridgewood Elementary School
- Sadie Saulter Elementary School
- South Greenville Elementary School
- Wahl Coates Elementary School
- W.H. Robinson Elementary School
- Wintergreen Primary School
- Wintergreen Intermediate School
- Sam D. Bundy Elementary School
- H.B. Sugg Elementary School
Middle schools
- AG Cox Middle School
- C.M. Eppes Middle School
- E.B. Aycock Middle School
- Wellcome Middle School
- Hope Middle School
- Chicod Middle School
- Farmville Middle School
- AG Cox Middle School
High schools
South Central High School
Higher learning
Private schools
- Calvary Christian Academy
- Children's Montessori School
- Christ
Covenant
- Community Christian Academy
- Greenville Christian Academy
- Faith Christian Academy
- Life Gate Christian School
- St. Peter's Catholic School
- The Oakwood School
- Trinity Christian School
- Victory Christian Academy
Health care
The health care community in Greenville is one of the largest in
the state of North Carolina.
Pitt County Memorial Hospital
is one of four academic medical centers in North Carolina and
serves as the teaching hospital for the adjacent
Brody
School of Medicine. The hospital hosts over 1700 licensed
medical providers and serves over 1.2 million residents of the
region. Many medical offices and clinics along with the hospital
and university teaching facilities lie on Greenville's west side,
comprising what is locally known as the Medical District. Currently
the East Carolina Cardiovascular Institute is under construction
and will add 250 jobs at the hospital along with a state-of-the-art
six floor medical center.
Culture

J.Y.
Joyner Library clock tower
Greenville is home to a wide range of
cultural events on and off the East Carolina University
campus. East Carolina University offers
musical concerts, theatrical and dance productions, travel films,
and lectures. The Greenville Museum contains local art, as well as
rotating exhibitions. Annually over 3,000 children participate in
programs offered by the Museum and over 12,000 people visit the
museum.
Theater is beginning to emerge in Greenville as well. Local groups
such as the Greenville Theater Project and the Magnolia Arts Center
offer outlets for both performers and audiences alike. Smiles and
Frowns Playhouse produces children's theatre. Additionally, student
groups such as SWASH Improv offer entertainment at the university
and local establishments.
Restaurants and nightclubs offer live entertainment on the weekends
and Uptown Greenville has a district that includes numerous venue
options. The downtown area is known for its large annual Halloween
street party and live music bars. Considering the size of the city,
Greenville has a large number of bars and nightclubs located
downtown, due in large part to the location of ECU's campus a few
blocks away.
Shopping
Greenville is the regional shopping destination for the
Inner Banks area since many big-box retailers
and specialty shops are located in the city.
Greenville Mall (formally Colonial Mall
Greenville and The Plaza) is the city's enclosed center, featuring
over 60 shops anchored by
Belk and
JC Penney. Other large centers include University
Commons, Lynncroft and Arlington Village. Greenville Grande,
Carmike Cinemas, a mix of cafes, restaurants, shops, and a fourteen
screen movie theater recently opened. A new development called 11
Galleria, on the site of the former Carolina East Mall, will
feature a number of big-box retailers, including
Sears,
Kohl's, and the
Fresh Market. This new shopping center will
contain . of retail space.
Sports
ECU's sports teams, nicknamed the
Pirates, compete in
NCAA Division I-A as a full-member of the 12 team
Conference USA.
Facilities include the 43,000 seat Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
for football, the 8,000-seat Williams
Arena at Minges Coliseum
for men's and women's basketball, and the Clark-LeClair Stadium
, with a seating capacity of 3,000 (max capacity of
6,000+ when including outfield "Jungle" areas) for
baseball.
Greenville has a strong tradition in
Little League Baseball.
Greenville Little Leagues was
founded in 1951 and has two leagues; North State and Tar Heel.
Along with Little League success, Pitt-Greenville softball teams
have won multiple world series titles. Since 2006, Greenville has
sent Babe Ruth baseball teams to Southeast Regional competition
each year in two different age groups, with two teams reaching the
Babe Ruth World Series; the '06 15 yr. old team, and the '08 13 yr.
old team. The 2006 team became the first Greenville Babe Ruth team
to reach the World Series in 30 years, along with becoming the
first Babe Ruth team to ever win a World Series game, defeating
Clifton Park, NY 12-0.
Transportation
Several major U.S. and state highways converge in the area to
provide easy access to the interstate highway system. Major
highways that run through the area include
US 264(Martin Luther King Jr. Highway),
NC 11(Memorial Drive),
US 13,
NC 33, NC 43, and
NC 903. Greenville is North
Carolina's largest city without a major interstate; however,
Interstate 95 is
located to the west of the city. Greenville is currently widening
lanes on Memorial, and the intersection of Fire Tower. Greenville's
busiest roads are along Memorial, Greenville Boulevard, Arlington,
and Fire Tower. Greenville is the most congested city in Eastern
NC. Greenville is expected to complete the southwest bypass in
2018. It stems from the 264 intersection on Statonsburg Rd. It has
currently been stalled due to funding cost.
Greenville is also served by railroads.
CSX Transportation moves the northern and
southern parts of Greenville,
Norfolk
southern serves the eastern and western parts of
Greenville.
Air
service is available through Pitt-Greenville Airport
with scheduled flights daily to Charlotte/Douglas International
Airport
via USAirways.
The
airport and local officials are in discussion with United Airlines and its regional partner,
Colgan Air, to provide 2 daily flights
between PGV and Washington Dulles
.
The City of Greenville operates a mass transit bus system called
Greenville Area Transit or GREAT.
Media
Newspapers & Publications
The Daily Reflector serves as
the main daily newspaper and is Greenville's oldest business. Other
notable newspapers that serve the city include
The Greenville Times,
The East Carolinian and
Viva Greenville.
Radio stations licensed in Greenville
- 1070
AM: - WNCT
contemporary
Christian
- 1250
AM: - WGHB
local sports
talk
- 1340
AM: - WOOW
gospel
- 91.3
FM: - WZMB
East
Carolina University
- 94.3 FM: - WTIB talk radio
- 107.9
FM: - WNCT
oldies
Television stations licensed in Greenville
Other television stations serving Greenville
Voice of America/IBB
Greenville is one of the major transmitter sites for
Voice of America shortwave broadcasts under the auspices of the
U.S. government's
International Broadcasting
Bureau. Both transmitters and a large antenna 'farm' are
located just outside Greenville.
The Greenville Transmitting Station
provides shortwave broadcasts for U.S. government-funded,
non-military, international broadcasting and serves as a standby,
alternate gateway for the Satellite Interconnect System to use to
uplink programming, should the Washington, D.C.
, SIS gateway become unavailable.
The
station is also a backup facility for uplinking programming to the
Atlantic
Ocean
Region satellite and serves as the primary return
link of that satellite. For the VOA, the main target areas for the
station’s shortwave broadcasts are Latin
America, Cuba
, the
Caribbean, and Africa. Three
complexes, one for management, distribution, and monitoring, and
the other two for actual transmitting, form an approximate nineteen
mile (30 km) equalateral triangle around Greenville. At one
time, these formed the largest international broadcasting site in
the world.
Notable people that are from or reside in Greenville
External links
References
- America's Promise Alliance - 2008 100 Best Winners
List
- Forbes Magazine - 2008 Best Places For Business And
Careers
- :: Greenville is Sportstown USA ::
- Careers
- City of Greenville, NC
- East Carolina University, North Carolina
- USGS: 1999 North Carolina Flooding:
Summary
- NCDC: Climate-Watch, September 1999
- CNN/SI - College Football - ECU stays focused
despite misery all around - Wednesday September 29, 1999 01:33
PM
- Maps
& Directions; Greenville North Carolina NC
- About University Health Systems
- Greenville Museum of Art
- [1]
- Magnolia Arts Center
- Smiles
and Frowns Playhouse
- The Swash Improv
- Shopping Center Business
- Eastern N.C. city hopes revenue guarantees can lure
United - Today In the Sky - USATODAY.com
- The birth of a newspaper: From weekly to
daily
- VOA News - Voice of America Homepage