Greenville is named after its founder, John Green, who settled in the wilderness of the southwest part of the Montcalm County in 1844. John Green constructed a sawmill on the Flat River that is credited for attracting other settlers. The newly formed Green's Village attracted many people of Danish origin who followed another early Danish settler's positive letters home regarding the area. Because of the town's heritage, Greenville celebrates the Danish Festival every year on the third weekend of August. A post office was established on January 20, 1848, with Abel French as the first postmaster. John Green had the village platted in 1853 and it was a station on the Detroit, Grand Rapids and Western Railroad. Greenville incorporated as a village in 1867 and as a city in 1871.[3]
Hendrik Meijer, founder of Meijer's stores, moved to Greenville after immigrating to the USA from the Netherlands. He was initially just a humble barber, but the Great Depression and lack of a proper grocery on his side of town led him to open his own store in 1934. Meijer's corporation now operates stores throughout the Midwest. Hendrik's son Fred Meijer, principal architect of the modern Meijer chain, is a native son.
Greenville is also home to the Fighting Falcon,[4] the lead plane of a wave of gliders during Operation Overlord. The Falcon was purchased with funds raised by the school children of the town, and was designated the lead aircraft in recognition of this achievement.
Since the foundation of Ranney Refrigerator Co. in 1892, the town has been known as the "Refrigerator Capital of the World." It has also been home to the Gibson, White Consolidated, Frigidaire, and until recently, the Electrolux refrigerator factory. Electrolux closed the Greenville facility in early 2006, as it was in the process of relocating the factory to Ciudad Juárez in Mexico. This move by a profitable factory had serious impacts on 2,700 employees and their families.
The city is now the epicentre of "green" technology with the addition of solar panel manufacturer United Solar Ovonic. It is also home to the brand-new manufacturing and design center of Northland Marvel, an undercounter refrigeration company that just became a part of the UK-based AgaRangemaster group. Lafayette Street, the downtown district, was placed on the National and State Register of Historic Sites in November 2008.
Baldwin Lake Beach offers a pool house and two acres of white sand beach on the cool shores of Baldwin Lake.
Greenville has a well-developed trail system. The eight mile long Fred Meijer Flat River Trail connects Greenville's major parks and circumnavigates the city. Greenville is also the terminus of the 41 mile long Fred Meijer Heartland Trail. This trail connects Greenville to Alma, and various other communities in Montcalm and Gratiot Counties. Mountain biking is available at both the Shearer Road and Edward's Creek mountain bike paths.
The Tower Mountain ski area offers the county's only tow rope operated skiing/sledding area and is free to the public. Greenville also offers miles of cross country skiing trails at both the Greenville Community Center and along the snow covered bike trails in the winter.
Canoe access to the Flat River is available at Jackson's Landing, a popular starting point for paddling through the Flat River State Game area.
Greenville has a proud culture of ice shanty building and annually displays some of its most technologically advanced creations on the areas many fishing lakes.
Deep Sea scuba divers or snorkelers can test their gear in the murky depths of Manoka lake.
This historic stadium was carved into a hillside south of the Union School building and was home to Greenville High School's football team since 1933. The field was donated to the school by Dr. D. K. Black and was officially dedicated on October 15, 1936.
The now demolished Old Ice House sat on the shore of Baldwin Lake.
This historical structure was built in 1902 and was originally the Cass St School building. The building was then used as the Board of Education before being renovated and turned into the Fighting Falcon Museum.
The multi-steeple First Congregational Church was completed on June 6, 1880. The front of the building is adorned with a twelve foot wide rose window. This building is actually the second First Congregational Church in Greenville. The original First Congregational Church was built in 1856, bought by Saint Paul's Episcopal Church and moved down the street.
Greenville's original shopping district on Lafayette street showcases early 20th century architecture from the bluffs of the Flat River to Greenville's city hall.
A copy of Denmark's the little mermaid sits along the banks of the Flat River. This little statue generated an international controversy when the City of Greenville was sued for copyright infringement by the heirs of the original sculptor, Edvard Eriksen.
It was on this site on the banks of the Flat river that John Green built his cabin, a dam across the flat river, and the sawmill that brought jobs and the villages first residents.
JR's Roller Castle was the city's roller rink and social hub since it opened its doors in 1981. It was housed in the historic Greenville Armory which was modified, through the mural work of Eston King, into a story book castle. JR's had a fire in 2006 causing extensive damage to the roof.
The third weekend in August brings Greenvillians from across the world back to Greenville. This festival celebrates Greenville's Danish heritage as well as its modern day Midwestern spirit.
Greenville's farms are located in Montcalm County's Soil Preservation District. Greenville is surrounded by potato, corn, dairy, and Christmas tree farms. Greenville was home to Ore-ida'stater tots division; until Oreida consolidated its operation in 1986and Greenville's farmers were forced to diversify their crops.
Greenville has an active 4H program and each summer hosts the Montcalm County 4H Fair. This fair displays livestock competitions, tractors pulls, a busy midway, and a demolition derby.
Greenville is home to an active arts scene. The Flat River Community Players stage productions of American plays at the Greenville Community Center Theater. The award winning Greenville High School music program consists of a marching band, concert band, orchestra, symphonic orchestra, and the Village Green choir.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city is has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), of which, 5.7 square miles (15 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (4.03%) is water.
The Greenville post office, with ZIP code 48838, also serves all of Eureka Township, a large portion of Montcalm Township and a smaller area of Pine Township to the north, Fairplain Township to the east, a small area of Otisco Township in Ionia County to the south, and a large part of Oakfield Township to the east and a smaller part of Grattan Township to the southwest, both in Kent County.[22]
Greenville contains three navigable lakes within its city limits, Baldwin, Manoka, and Como. It also contains many unnamed ponds, a peat bog, and seasonal wet lands.
Greenville is a city in Montcalm County of the U.S. state of Michigan. Portions of the county are associated with the Western region while others are more closely associated with the Central Michigan region. The population was 7,935 at the 2000 census. Greenville residents can commute to jobs in the nearby Grand Rapids metro area.