History of Greenville, Mississippi
Greenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi|Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 41,633 at the 2000 census (likely higher now after Hurricane Katrina devastated areas farther south and east). It is the county seat of Washington County, Mississippi|Washington County{{GR|6}}. Greenville is also the largest city in Mississippi north of the Interstate 20|I-20 corridor.
Greenville was named after American Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene.
Greenville is located on the eastern bank of Lake Ferguson, an oxbow lake left from an old channel of the Mississippi River. A floating casino is located on the lake near the downtown area. Chicago Mill and Lumber Co. operated a lumber mill on the lake .2 mile south of the casino levee parking lot; the mill specialized in making hardwood boxes until it closed. The Winterville Mounds Historic Site, with museum and picnic area, is located just north of the town at 2415 Highway 1 N; the Indian mounds were built by a tribe that predated the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indian tribes.
Greenville was the birthplace of puppeteer Jim Henson, singer Mary Wilson (singer)|Mary Wilson of The Supremes, author Shelby Foote, pro-baseball player Frank White (baseball player)|Frank White, archaeologist Theresa Helbach, and pioneering Chinese American journalist Sam Chu Lin. African-American bear hunter and sportsman Holt Collier is buried in Greenville.
source Wikipedia