Greenville, Illinois

Geobox|Settlement
name = Greenville
native_name =
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category = City
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image_caption = Bond County Courthouse is located in Greenville's public square. The Bond County Soldiers and Sailors Monument is located on the courthouse grounds.


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country = United States
state = Illinois
region = Bond
region_type = County
district =
district_type = Township
municipality =
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lat_d = 38
lat_m = 53
lat_s = 22
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long_EW = W
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area_imperial = 5.2
area_land_imperial = 5.2
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population = 6955
population_date = 2000
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population_density_imperial = 1337.0
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leader_type = Mayor
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
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postal_code = 62246
area_code = 618
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map_caption = Location of Greenville within Illinois
map_background =
map_locator = Illinois
commons = Greenville, Illinois
statistics =
website =
footnotes = :otherplaces3|Greenville

Greenville is a city in Bond County, Illinois, United States, 46 miles east of St. Louis. The population was 6,955 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bond County.GR|6

Greenville is home to Greenville College, a private Christian college.

Geography

Greenville is located at coor dms|38|53|22|N|89|24|13|W|city (38.889537, -89.403618).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 6,955 people, 2,019 households, and 1,280 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,337.0 people per square mile (516.4/km²). There were 2,171 housing units at an average density of 417.3/sq mi (161.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 82.40% White, 15.44% African American, 0.62% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.46% of the population.

There were 2,019 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 15.9% under the age of 18, 18.1% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 143.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 152.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,650, and the median income for a family was $45,557. Males had a median income of $26,105 versus $20,889 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,326. About 8.8% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

Greenville had a post office from 1819 and was incorporated as a town in 1855 and as a city in 1872. At one time, it had neighborhoods called New Jerusalem, Piety Hill, Cobtown, and Buzzard Roost. A few possible reasons have been put forth for the naming of the town. Some think the town was named after Greenville, North Carolina, which had been named after Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene. Others say that Greenville was named by early settler Thomas White because it was "so green and nice." A third possibility is that Greenville was named after Green P. Rice, the town's first merchant.

Greenville College was founded as Almira College in 1855. In 1941, college president H.J. Long "declared the founding of Almira and Greenville ran parallel, for both were founded on prayer."

On April 18, 1934, during the Great Depression, a group of 500 protesters marched to the Illinois Emergency Relief Commission to lodge complaints about the delivery of emergency supplies from the state and federal governments.

Ronald Reagan visited Greenville on the campaign trail in the 1980s and gave a speech on the courthouse lawn. Barack Obama, the junior Senator from Illinois running for President, has also visited Greenville while campaigning. Women in Bond County could vote for the first time in 1914.

On November 21, 1915, the Liberty Bell passed through Greenville on its nationwide tour returning to Pennsylvania from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. After that trip, the Liberty Bell returned to Pennsylvania and will not be moved again.cite news |title= Liberty Bell Attracts Crowd in Greenville During 1915 Stop |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=July 3, 2007 |accessdate=2007-07-22 ]

The Greenville Public Library was established as a Carnegie library and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Hogue Hall at Greenville College also appears on the National Register.

On one of his tours across America in his motorhome, sportscaster John Madden stopped in Greenville and enjoyed his time at a truck stop so much that he declared it the "John Madden Hall of Fame." The truck stop has since been torn down.fact|date=June 2007

Education

In addition to Greenville College, Greenville is home to Bond County Community Unit #2 High School (usually known as Greenville High School), home of the Comets, who in 2007 made it to the final four in the IHSA class 3A state football playoffs and fell to the Columbia Eagles 39-40. Students from the neighboring towns of Pocahontas and Sorento attend high school in Greenville.

Greenville Junior High, home of the Bluejays, and Greenville Elementary School, home of the Rockets, round out Greenville's local schools. As of the 2006 school year, Greenville Elementary was selected as a NASA Explorer school.

From 2004 to 2007, Greenville also had a private Christian school, Greenville Christian Academy, run by Smith Grove Baptist Church.cite news |title= Lack of Enrollment Results in Closing of GCA in May |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=July 19, 2007 |accessdate=2007-07-30 ] However, the school closed due to lack of enrollment in May 2007. Other nearby private school alternatives are Vandalia Christian Academy and Mater Dei in Breese.

Local businesses

Greenville has passed laws providing for two Tax increment financing districts in the hopes of drawing more businesses.cite news |title= CITY OF GREENVILLE MARKS GREAT PROGRESS THROUGH 2006 |url= http://www.wgel.com/daily/2007/1-5-07.htm|publisher="WGEL" |date=January 5, 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-14 ]

Notable businesses in the town include Nevco Scoreboards, [ [http://www.nevcoscoreboards.com/ Welcome to NEVCO Scoreboards, Message Centers & Video Displays ] ] the largest privately held manufacturer of scoreboards in the world. [ [http://www.nevco.com/pages/about.php NEVCO - About/History ] ] DeMoulin Bros. [http://www.demoulin.com/] is one of the world's largest makers of band uniforms; the company's collections were visited by the magician David Copperfield. [http://www.greenvilleusa.org/copperfield.htm] Other large employers include Carlisle-Syntec, [ [http://www.carlisle-syntec.com/ Carlisle SynTec single-ply membrane roofing systems and materials for the commercial and industrial roofing industry ] ] Bass-Mollett Publishers, and Federal Correctional Institution Greenville, a federal prison.

In October 2006, Kansas-based Alternative Energy Sources Incorporated announced that they would locate an ethanol plant in Greenville. The plant will be built on 100 acres in the John W. Kelsey Business & Technology Park. [http://www.wgel.com/daily/2006/10-24.htm] Nevco announced in late 2006 that it would move its headquarters from its location on Harris Avenue to an area within the Kelsey Technology Park.

Greenville Regional Hospital, [ [http://www.greenvilleregionalhospital.com/ Welcome to Greenville Regional Hospital ] ] called Utlaut Memorial Hospital until 2005, has consistently been ranked by Solucient as one of the top 100 best small hospitals in the nation. Greenville also has an assisted living facility, the Glenwood.

The town's media includes "The Best Country in the Country," radio station WGEL, and the "Greenville Advocate", a newspaper which is printed twice-weekly.

Greenville Airport and Governor Bond Lake serve the hobbyists in the area.

Historical businesses

Historic Greenville businesses include the Helvetia milk factory, which would later turn into a PET Milk factory, shoe manufacturer Mayer and Bannister, cigar manufacturers Thomas D. Scheske and H.H. Wirz, and glove factory the Greenville Glove Manufacturing Co. In the early 1900s, Greenville had its own power company, Greenville Electric Gas and Power Company, which later was bought by Illinois Power and Light Service.

The Watson family operated a pharmacy in Greenville for over 125 years, since 1881; it was sold in 2006, but still maintains the name Watson's Drug Store. Greenville once had a silent movie theatre, the Lyric, and now has a first-run movie theatre, the Globe.

While Greenville once hosted three newspapers, "The Item", "The Sun", and "The Advocate", it now has only the twice-weekly "Advocate".

Events

Greenville is the site of the annual Agape Music Festival, a Christian music festival. It also plays host to the World Powered Parachute Championships as "Chute-Out on the Prairie."

Greenville conducts the Bond County Fair every August; 2007's events took place August 1-7.cite news |title= Fair Ass'n Buys More Land; Preparing for Fair August 1-7 |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=July 17, 2007 |accessdate=2007-07-30 ] In 2008, the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Moving Wall will be visiting Greenville to coincide with the fair activities.cite news |title= Local AMVETS to Salute Wall |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=July 17, 2007 |accessdate=2007-07-30 ]

Notable residents

Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Edwin G. Krebs lived in Greenville from the age of 6 to 15. Noted astronomer Alfred Harrison Joy was a prominent member of Greenville society and the son of the former Greenville mayor and merchant F.P. Joy.

Greenville is the birthplace of the sixth governor of Colorado, Job Adams Cooper. Cooper married his wife, the daughter of a prominent local preacher, in Greenville.

Anti-boxing activist Manuel Velazquez retired in Greenville and died in 1994.

The Christian band Jars of Clay went to school and formed at Greenville College, which is noted for its Contemporary Christian music program. The popular alternative band Augustana also began at Greenville College.

Noted environmental activist Howard Zahniser went to Greenville College and later wrote the Wilderness Act of 1964. He taught English at Greenville High School.

Local resident Dr. Robert E. "Ish" Smith served as the president of the International Baseball Federation for 12 years (1981 to 1993) and the United States Baseball Federation for nine years (1981 to 1990). After he retired from the presidency of the IBA, he served as President of Greenville College.

Country music star Gretchen Wilson is a native of the nearby town of Pocahontas and attended Greenville High School but did not graduate.

CNET Executive Editor Tom Merritt was born in Greenville.

Places of Interest

A large stone and plaque (placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution) marks the place where Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas made speeches while running for the United States Senate in 1858. Allan H. Keith, [http://books.google.com/books?id=1gJ_RVeb5JYC&pg=PA2&dq=richard+bock+sculptor&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=ngQRYGbj78gEH8yXNlEZrDnRlMU#PPA1,M1 "Historical Stories: About Greenville and Bond County, IL"] . Consulted on August 15, 2007. ] The city is applying for a grant from the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to buy the property on South Fifth Street where Lincoln spoke to create a small Lincoln park.cite news |title= City Seeks Lincoln Grant to Draw Visitors to Site |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=June 14, 2007 |accessdate=2007-07-22 ] A statue dedicated to county veterans of the Civil War was dedicated on the courthouse lawn in 1903; the courthouse lawn has a Veterans' Memorial in honor of all county veterans.

Many Sears Catalog Homes-houses made from kits bought from the Sears and Roebuck catalog- are dotted around the town.

Greenville College is home to the only museum dedicated to the sculptures of Richard Bock, [ [http://www.greenvilleusa.org/bock.htm ~Historic~ Greenville Illinois - Bock Museum - Greenville Chamber of Commerce ] ] who was an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright and designed many of the sculptures for Wright-designed homes.

The [http://www.americanfarmheritagemuseum.org/ American Farm Heritage Museum] , a museum which aims to preserve agricultural history, is being built in Greenville. The museum will feature exhibits of tractors and other farm-related memorabilia and held an Outhouse Festival and a Fall Festival in October 2006. In 2007, it held its third annual Heritage Days and was the largest Oliver Corp. equipment show in America in 2007, as the national Oliver show was held outside the US.cite news |title= Museum Readies for Third Show |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=July 26, 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-06 ] In 2006, 500 tractors were on display for the event, and 5,000 people were in attendance.cite news |title= Pleased with Heritage Days Results |url= |publisher="Greenville Advocate" |date=August 22, 2006 |accessdate=2007-08-02 ] In 2008, the show will also be the site of the Cockshutt international equipment show.

Volunteer activities

Greenville hosts many volunteer activities, notably those benefiting local schools, churches or Greenville Regional Hospital.

Habitat for Humanity has a local Greenville chapter which has built four houses to date.

Many events are held by the hospital auxiliary to benefit Greenville Regional Hospital, including a book fair in June and a holiday bazaar in December, which has been held for 49 years.cite news |title= NEW BOOTHS AND OTHER ATTRACTIONS ADDED TO HOLIDAY BAZAAR |url= http://www.wgel.com/daily/2006/11-27.htm|publisher="WGEL" |date=November 27, 2006 |accessdate=2007-08-14 ]

Government

Greenville has had a mayor and city council form of government since 1957. The first mayor, James Bradford, was elected in 1873. He was the owner of Bradford and Son bank, which is still in existence as Bradford National Bank.

ee also

* Phyllis Holmes
* Ron Stephens
* Frank Watson
* Tom Merritt

References

External links

* [http://www.greenvilleusa.org/index.htm Town of Greenville homepage]
* [http://www.wgel.com/ WGEL, Greenville's radio station]
* [http://www.bccu2.k12.il.us/ Bond County Community Unit #2 School District homepage]
* [http://greenville.618football.com/ Greenville Comets on 618 Football]