Town of Greeneville history

Greeneville, town, seat (1783) of Greene county, northeastern Tennessee, United States, near the Nolichucky River, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, about 70 miles (115 km) northeast of Knoxville. It was incorporated under the laws of Tennessee in 1817.

The city developed around Tusculum College which was established in 1818 by Reverend Samuel Doak.

One of Greene County’s most famous citizens, Andrew Johnson, moved from North Carolina to Greeneville in 1826, and set up a tailor’s shop.

Secession and the politics of the Civil War, 1860–65The coming of the warThe political course of the warMoves toward emancipationSectional dissatisfaction

Eastern Tennessee opposed secession from the Union in 1861, and a convention was held in Greeneville to plan an unsuccessful secession bid from the state.

Fought on October 10, 1863, the battle lasted about nine hours and involved thousands of troops, ending with the Confederates being driven into Virginia, never to return to capture East Tennessee.

A monument to General John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate cavalry raider who was killed in Greeneville (1864), stands near the courthouse.

The Baileyton Seminary was one of the most prominent of these schools and the community began to develop in the 1880’s as a result of the school.

Grover Cleveland’s first termThe surplus and the tariffThe public domainThe Interstate Commerce ActThe election of 1888

The Benjamin Harrison administrationThe Sherman Antitrust ActThe silver issueThe McKinley tariffThe agrarian revoltThe PopulistsThe election of 1892

In 1896 the village was known for being an educational and cultural center for two postwar social developments, an institution of higher learning, and the development of that school into a college.

The Town was officially incorporated in 1903.

It served as both federal courthouse and post office until 1983 when the post office moved to its new location on West Summer Street. It took two years to complete and the new building officially opened in June, 1905.

In 1913 Mosheim College property was purchased by the Greene County Board of Education for the establishment of a public four-year high school.

In 1928, Tennessee Governor Henry Horton provided for major improvements to the Snapps Ferry Road that was renamed Horton Highway in his honor.

World War IIThe road to warThe United States at warWar productionFinancing the warSocial consequences of the warThe 1944 electionThe new United States role in world affairs

The peak Cold War years, 1945–60The Truman Doctrine and containmentPostwar domestic reorganizationThe Red ScareThe Korean WarPeace, growth, and prosperityEisenhower’s second termDomestic issuesWorld affairsAn assessment of the postwar era

In 1966 it was consolidated, forming a new school which is called ”West Greene” High School.

In 1974, Interstate 81 was completed through Greene County and an interchange was located at Baileyton.

In September 2001 a new federal Major Events Affecting Development courthouse was constructed at the comer of West Depot Street and North Irish Street.