Greenville is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

with home rule status in northwestern

Mercer County, Pennsylvania Mercer County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 110,652. Its county seat is Mercer, Pennsylvania, Mercer, and ...

, United States. Located along the

Shenango River The Shenango River is a principal tributary of the Beaver River (Pennsylvania), Beaver River, approximately 100 mi (160 km) long, Incorporated as the Borough of West Greenville in 1836, it changed its name to the Borough of Greenville in 1865 and began to operate under a home rule charter on January 1, 2020, under the name of the "Town of Greenville." The origin of the name is speculated to have come from

East Greenville, Pennsylvania East Greenville is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,166 at the 2020. It is one of a strip of small towns that run together along Route 29, including Red Hill, Pennsburg, and East Greenville. T ...

. Greenville is part of the Hermitage micropolitan area. It was home to the Werner Company, the world's largest manufacturer of step and extension ladders. Bail USA, a national bail bond company, and Anderson Coach & Travel, a prominent regional bus company, are based in Greenville.

History

Greenville was known for its manufacturing interests, including railroad shops, bridge works, gristmills, a cement-block plant, an automobile factory, foundries and machine shops, saw and planing mills, steelworks, a railroad-car manufacturer, and flour mills. Water power was supplied by the Shenango River. In 1900, 4,814 people lived in Greenville. That number rose to 5,909 by 1910, and stood at 10,000 in 1940. In 1950 there were 9,210 residents of Greenville. By 2000, the census showed a decline in population to 6,380. Greenville was designated financially distressed in May 2002 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the

Financially Distressed Municipalities Act The Financially Distressed Municipalities Act ''(Act of 1987, P.L. 246, No. 47)'', also known as Act 47, is a Pennsylvania statute outlining procedures to stabilize municipalities in Pennsylvania undergoing financial distress. The Act empowers the P ...

. The designation was rescinded in November 2023 after improvement of the borough's fiscal situation. The Greenville Commercial Historic District and Alexander P. and James S. Waugh House are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Geography

Greenville is located in

northwest Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania encompassing the western half of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its eco ...

at (41.404998, −80.386651), along the

Shenango River The Shenango River is a principal tributary of the Beaver River (Pennsylvania), Beaver River, approximately 100 mi (160 km) long,census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 6,380 people, 2,464 households, and 1,471 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 2,723 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 96.33%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.77%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.20% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino people of any race were 0.49% of the population. The leading ancestries in Greenville are German at 28%, Irish at 12%, English at 12% and Italian at 10%. There were 2,464 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.96. In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 16.8% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $31,250, and the median income for a family was $38,869. Males had a median income of $31,324 versus $19,293 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $14,969. About 10.6% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

The Werner Company, a manufacturer of ladders and construction equipment, was the largest employer in the city before it moved most of its offices out of Greenville in 2021. Major employers in Greenville include UPMC Horizon,

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Thiel College Thiel College (, ) is a private college in Greenville, Pennsylvania, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is one of the smallest colleges in the region with about 100 full-time and part-time faculty ...

, Greenville Area School District, and St. Paul's.

Recreation and culture

The borough owns and maintains seven parks in Greenville, the biggest being Riverside Park, which houses its own recreation center, outdoor amphitheater, which was just newly renovated, and a new playground, which was built in 2012 by community volunteers. Riverside Park's South Greenville Recreation Center was completed renovated and doubled the size of the center; the construction was completed early 2016. Riverside Park was previously home to the Greenville Memorial Pool, which opened in 1952 and closed in 2009. A sports complex is housed in the adjacent West Salem Township, where community softball, soccer and football programs are held. The Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce promotes community development. The Greenville Area Community Theatre is open to people ages 18 and over. The Penn-Ohio Young Actors Playhouse is located in Greenville and serves the Penn-Ohio area for ages 18 and under. Greenville also has its own symphony. Greenville PA Post Office Front Exterior November 2021

Greenville PA Post Office Front Exterior November 2021

The Greenville Area Public Library has served the area since 1921. Greenville has three museums: the Greenville Area Historical Society at the Waugh House Museum, the Greenville Railroad Park and Museum, and the Erie Extension Canal Museum. The Railroad Park and Museum displays, among other railroad equipment, the last extant 0-10-2 "Union" steam locomotive. Every year on the first weekend in July, "Heritage Days" is held. This includes a fireworks display, crafters and vendors, historical reenactments, children's activities, and the area's largest free car show. The Waugh House is the oldest brick house in Greenville, built in 1826. The post office is considered among the finest of

Depression-Era The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

design, built under the WPA program during the Roosevelt administration.

Education

The Greenville Area School District serves some of the area, and is divided into two buildings. The Reynolds Area School District serves some of the area, and is contained in two buildings.

, a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

, is located in Greenville.

Notable people

Štefan Banič Štefan Banič (; 23 November 1870 – 2 January 1941) was a Slovak inventor who patented an early parachute design. Born in Jánostelek ('', Smolenická Nová Ves''), Austria-Hungary (now Smolenická Nová Ves, a part of Smolenice, Slovak ...

, inventor of one of the first

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

designs *

Adda Burch Adda Burch (January 6, 1869 – February 18, 1929) was an American missionary-teacher in Latin America. She was also a Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) leader, serving in various positions in the U.S. as well as president of the World WCTU ...

, former teacher, missionary, temperance activist, and reporter * Nicholas James (a.k.a. Nicholas J. Muscarella), American actor * Gus Kefurt, Medal of Honor recipient *

Eric Kloss Eric Kloss (born April 3, 1949) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Kloss was born blind in Greenville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and attended Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children, which was run by his father. When he was ...

, jazz saxophonist * Larry Lake, musician, radio personality, and record producer * Bill Mitchell, former vice president of design,

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

Nolan Reimold Nolan Gallagher Reimold (born October 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Early ...

, former professional baseball player,

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

References

External links

{{authority control Populated places established in 1819 Boroughs in Mercer County, Pennsylvania 1819 establishments in Pennsylvania