Greenville, city, seat of Pitt County, eastern North Carolina, on the Tar River; founded 1771, incorporated 1774. It is a commercial center of a rich agricultural area producing tobacco, peanuts, soybeans, corn, livestock, and poultry. Manufactures include pharmaceuticals, textiles, boats, plastic items, forklifts, and lumber. It is the site of East Carolina University (1907) and a community college. Originally called Martinsborough, it was renamed (1786) Greenesville (later Greenville) for General Nathanael Greene, a hero of the American Revolution. It was a small farm center until the arrival of the railroad in 1889 and the establishment of a tobacco market in 1891. Population 35,740 (1980); 44,972 (1990); 60,476 (2000).
