Greer is a city in Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 25,515 as of the 2010 census and had risen to an estimated 28,365 as of 2015. Each day, more than three times that number of people pass through the city on the two highways which run through the city. The majority of the city is in Greenville County and is part of the Greenvilleâ€"Andersonâ€"Mauldin Metropolitan Statistical Area.The city is additionally part of the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area in Upstate South Carolina.
Greer is adjacent to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), which serves Greenville, Spartanburg, and the Upstate. Greer is also the site of the only BMW manufacturing facility in North America. According to a June 2005 article in The Greenville News, BMW's Greer plant employs about 9,000 people, and has attracted dozens of suppliers in South Carolina, providing jobs for more than 12,000 people. Greer is home to the South Carolina Inland Port, an intermodal facility that receives and sends containers by rail to the Port of Charleston.
Geography
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Greer is located at 34°55′49″N 82°13′30″W (34.930304, âˆ'82.225052). It is 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Greenville and 17 miles (27 km) west of Spartanburg, both via U.S. Route 29.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.7 square miles (58.9Â km2), of which 20.6 square miles (53.4Â km2) are land and 2.1 square miles (5.4Â km2), or 9.18%, are water. Greer has three lakes: Lake Robinson, Apalache Lake and Lake Cunningham. The South Tyger River runs through the northern part of Greer, part of the Broad River watershed.
History
Greer was named for James Manning Greer, whose ancestry traces from Scotland, through Ireland. 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 Greer's family settled at Duncans Creek between that Creek and the Enoree River and close to Duncan's Creek Presbyterian Church. John, Sr.'s great grandson James Manning Greer settled his family near Greenville in an area that eventually became Greer's Station.
Located in the picturesque foothills of the Upstate region of South Carolina, Greer enjoys a distinguished past, from its days as a hunting ground for local Cherokees, to its settlement by pioneering families in the 1700s, to the advent of the railroad in the 1800s. Today, Greer possesses a combination of small-town charm and big-city opportunities, attracting a wide variety of businesses and people from across the country and the world.
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. That depot was a beautiful, red brick, Victorian structure with a slate roof and a cupola. It was located immediately adjacent to the current Norfolk Southern rail line between Trade Street and Depot Street, facing toward Moore Street. It was demolished in 1976 by its then owner, the Southern Railway System, in order to avoid property taxes. When the town was incorporated in 1876, it was named Town of Greer's. One hundred years later, the name was officially changed to the City of Greer without an "s" on the end.
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.
In 1939 artist Winfred Walkley painted a mural, Cotton and Peach Growing, for the town's old post office as one of thirteen works commissioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts between 1938 and 1941 for post offices and federal buildings throughout South Carolina. The building is now home to the Greer Heritage Museum.
After World War II, the city began to grow and diversify its industrial base. A new hospital and high school were built. People came to downtown Greer from Spartanburg and Greenville to shop. In the early 1960s Interstate 85 was opened, as well as the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Imports derailed the textile industry in the 1970s and threatened to turn Greer into a ghost town, but the citizens of Greer worked together to attract new industry.
The Arthur Barnwell House, Davenport House, Gilreath's Mill, Greer Depot, Greer Downtown Historic District, Greer Post Office, Louie James House, R. Perry Turner House, Robert G. Turner House and Earle R. Taylor House and Peach Packing Shed are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 16,843 people, 6,714 households, and 4,511 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,044.5 people per square mile (403.2/km²). There were 7,386 housing units at an average density of 458.0 per square mile (176.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.39% White, 19.49% African American, 1.16% Asian, 0.22% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 4.42% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.18% of the population. 21.6% were of American, 9.5% Irish, 8.9% German and 8.4% English ancestry according to Census 2000. 90.6% spoke English and 8.5% Spanish as their first language. Since 2000, the city has seen an explosive increase in Hispanic immigration.
There were 6,714 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city, the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,140, and the median income for a family was $41,864. Males had a median income of $33,147 versus $23,566 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,546. About 12.2% of families and 15.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.5% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
Recreation
The city of Greer has a thriving recreation sports program. Greer Recreation (Greer Rec) has many sports opportunities. One of the best accomplishments that the city claimed was their 2007 9â€"10 Little League softball state championship.
In the summer of 2010, the combined team of two schools, (Blue Ridge Middle School, and Greer Middle) the 11- to 12-year-old Little League softball team went to the regional tournament in Warner Robins, Georgia, but lost the first two games and was eliminated.
City Stadium in Greer is a WPA project completed in 1938; it currently seats 3,000. Throughout the years the stadium has hosted Little League, scholastic, The American Legion World Series, and semi-professional sports and received a major renovation in 1997. [1]
In 2012 the City of Greer successfully renovated the Cannon Center, a former National Guard armory that later became a basketball gym. The facility was originally built in 1936. The completed renovation included new office space, classroom space, dressing rooms for events/productions, and state of the art audio-visual equipment.
The City Recreation Department has been honored with South Carolina Recreation and Parks Agency of the Year twice since 2005. It also received the South Carolina Recreation and Parks Athletic Agency of the Year in 2009. The department is led by Ann Cunningham (Director) and Red Watson (Assistant Director).
Greer City Park is part of the City of Greer's Municipal Complex that was completed in 2008, the 12-acre Greer City Park is located adjacent to Greer City Hall and offers numerous recreational opportunities in Historic Greer Station.
Transportation
Airports
Greer is served by the Greenvilleâ€"Spartanburg International Airport Roger Milliken Field, which in 2012 handled over 1.7 million passengers. The airport is a commercial Class C airport located 4 miles (6 km) south of the center of Greer, midway between Greenville and Spartanburg. The airport is served by Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Scheduled cargo service is offered by FedEx Express and UPS Airlines. Greer is also within 20 miles (32 km) of Donaldson Center Airport, Greenville Downtown Airport, and Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport all general aviation facilities.
Railroads
Greer is served by Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, which operates to both Greenville and Spartanburg. Greer is the location of the South Carolina Inland Port, an inland port built to handle containerized goods. The port is served by Norfolk Southern, and connects Greer to the Port of Charleston.
Highways
One two-digit Interstate highway runs through Greer. Interstate 85 passes 5 miles (8Â km) south of the city center, with access from Exits 57 through 60. I-85 leads northeast 90 miles (140Â km) to Charlotte, North Carolina, and southwest 154 miles (248Â km) to Atlanta. U.S. Route 29 runs through Greer, connecting Greenville and Spartanburg. South Carolina Highway 14 and South Carolina Highway 290 both run through Greer. SC 14 leads north 18 miles (29Â km) to Landrum, near the North Carolina border, and south 16 miles (26Â km) to Simpsonville, while SC 290 leads east 5 miles (8Â km) to Duncan and northwest 13 miles (21Â km) to U.S. Route 25 north of Travelers Rest.
Notable people
- Kris Bruton, Harlem Globetrotters; 1994 NCAA college dunk champion and 1994 NBA draft pick of the Chicago Bulls
- Earl Simmons, known as DMX, multi-platinum selling rapper
- Bill Haas, golfer; multiple winner on the PGA Tour and winner of the 2011 Fedex Cup
- Jay Haas, golfer; multiple winner on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour
References
External links
- City of Greer official website
- Greer Development Corporation
- Greer Station Association - Downtown Merchant Association
- Greer Cultural Arts Council
- Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce
- Greer Citizen, local news
- GreerToday, local news
- Greer Cultural Arts Council
- "BMW executive says Greer plant is vital to company's future", a June 2005 article from The Greenville News
- BMW Zentrum, the only BMW museum in North America, near BMW's plant