Greenville Map
Greenville is a small, fourth-class city located on U.S. Highway 67 near the intersection with Route D and E in Wayne County, Missouri in the United States along the St. Francis River. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city's population was 451; a 2003 estimate, however, showed the population to be 444. Greenville was incorporated and founded as the county seat of Wayne County in 1819.
Greenville was named after Fort Greene Ville (now Greenville), Ohio, the site where General Anthony Wayne signed a treaty with the Native Americans after defeating them in the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794. This was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War. Wayne County was named for this military hero and Greenville was named for the place he was most famous for. Incidentally, Fort Greene Ville, Ohio, was named after Nathaniel Greene, a friend of Wayne.
In 1826, Greenville flooded. On August 10, 1832, the first post office opened. Confederate Brigadier General William J. Hardee and officers Patrick Cleburne, Thomas C. Hindman, and Basil W. Duke along with about 800 men were stationed close to Greenville near the outset of the Civil War until they began to retreat to Randolph County, Arkansas on August 28, 1861. Greenville was incorporated as a village on February 23, 1893. Several years later in 1941, the village was relocated two miles to the north after the construction of Lake Wappapello.
Nearby cities include Williamsville, Mill Spring, Piedmont, Des Arc, Puxico.