GREENVILLE

19th century

During Greenville's early years, the Tar River was a navigable waterway, and by the 1860s there were several established steamboat lines transporting passengers and goods on the river. Cotton was the leading agricultural crop, and Greenville became a major cotton export center. Before the turn of the century, however, tobacco surpassed cotton and became the leading money crop. Greenville became one of the state's leading tobacco marketing and warehouse centers.

20th century

For over a century, Greenville was recognized only as an important tobacco market and the home of a small state-supported college, chartered by the Legislature in March 1907 and named East Carolina Teacher's Training School, a co-ed institution. By the mid-1960s, East Carolina College had become the third-largest state-supported college, and enrollment approached 8,000 students—twice the 1960 enrollment figure. In 1967, it became East Carolina University. ECU Medical School admitted its first four-year class in 1977. At the turn of the century, enrollment at ECU topped the 18,000 mark, and now exceeds 29,000 students.

Greenville's current economic development began in 1963 when Empire Brush was recruited to the new Greenville Industrial Park, established by Greenville Industries, Inc. (a for-profit land holding company) in partnership with the Pitt County Development Commission (established by a voter referendum in 1957) and Greenville Utilities Commission. One of the community's greatest successes came in 1968 when Burroughs Wellcome, a major pharmaceutical research and manufacturing firm, located a pharmaceutical development/manufacturing facility near the city. The site is now owned by Patheon, a Thermo Fisher Scientific company, which employs approximately 1,200 people. The city and Pitt County have also become home to many other major industries and businesses including Catalent, Attindas, Grady-White Boats, and Hyster-Yale Materials Handling.

21st century