Greenville, industrial city, seat of Greenville County, northwestern South Carolina, at falls on the Reedy River, on the Piedmont Plateau; settled 1776, incorporated as a city 1907. Manufactures include textiles, electronics, computer components, robotics, pharmaceuticals, and rubber. Furman University (1826); Bob Jones University (1927), with a noted museum of religious art; and the Greenville County Museum of Art are here. Entertainment facilities include the Peace Center, a performing arts theater, and Sassafras Mountain, a resort area and the highest point in the state. Greenville's large textile industry was begun in the 1820s. The city may have been named for Isaac Green, a local textile-mill operator. Population 58,242 (1980); 58,282 (1990); 56,002 (2000).
