Greer

History

Greer was named for James Manning Greer, who was Scottish. Many of his descendants still reside in the region. James Manning Greer was a descendant of John Greer Sr., who surveyed his land in Laurens County in 1750. John and his family were already in Laurens County, prior to the Greer passengers who arrived aboard the ship The Falls in 1764. John, Sr.'s great-grandson, James Manning Greer, settled his family near Greenville in an area that eventually became known as Greer's Station. The area now known as Greer was once part of the "Domain of the Cherokees" prior to the American Revolutionary War. In 1777, the area was added to the state of South Carolina. Development toward the birth of the town occurred in 1873, when the Richmond and Danville Air Line Railway (now the Norfolk Southern Railway) established a line between Atlanta and Charlotte. A station was built on land that belonged to James Manning Greer, and was named Greer's Station. The first post office was located in the new depot, Greer's Depot. Merchants, blacksmiths and physicians set up shop in what is now the downtown area of Greer. In 1900, Greer's first bank, the Bank of Greer's, opened. The Piedmont and Northern Railway laid a second railroad line through Greer in 1914. With two active train lines, Greer became an attractive site for commerce. The railway meant big business for local farmers, enabling them to ship their crops, mainly cotton and peaches, out of state. Greer also became a textile-manufacturing center, with flourishing mills that included Victor, Franklin, Apalache and Greer Mills. The communities that grew up around the mills were as close-knit as the outlying farming communities. The building is now home to the Greer Heritage Museum. After World War II, the city began to grow and…

Geography

Greer is located northeast of Greenville and west of Spartanburg. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (8.29%) is water. }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,051
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  10,508
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  9,304
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,063
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  8,872
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  8,442
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,403
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,965

Largest nearby schools

• Cyber Academy of South Carolina
  Other · Greenville · 3,985 students · 23.4:1 ratio
• Riverside High
  High · Greer · 1,847 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• Wade Hampton High
  High · Greenville · 1,831 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Eastside High
  High · Taylors · 1,551 students · 19.6:1 ratio
• Greer High
  High · Greer · 1,348 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Woodland Elementary
  Elementary · Greer · 1,251 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Greer Middle
  Middle · Greer · 1,080 students · 17.4:1 ratio
• Riverside Middle
  Middle · Greer · 1,075 students · 16.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.54 — 2025-08-23
  4 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 3.04 — 2025-08-23
  3 km N of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.88 — 2025-08-23
  3 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 2.73 — 2025-08-14
  7 km N of Columbus, North Carolina
• M 2.53 — 2024-10-13
  3 km NNW of Coronaca, South Carolina
• M 3.24 — 2023-06-04
  4 km NNW of West Canton, North Carolina