Civil War Era Greenville

    I've been fascinated by this research into Civil War Greenville and it's inspiring me to consider writing multiple historical fictions. I find history so interesting. 

    From what I've discovered so far there were no major bridges across the Reedy in 1861, as the main street bridge wasn't built until the 1870s. The railroad connection to Columbia had only recently been finished. Greenville County tends to name most roads based on where they lead, though it turns out Parkins mill road wasn't the original Parkins Mill road. Originally, the road leading from Augusta Road was not called Mauldin Road. Before Mauldin existed, before even Butler Crossing existed, Mauldin road was Parkins Mill road. It led from Augusta road (The main trading road) to Parkins' old Mill, currently the site of the sewage treatment plant, which was built after the city of Conestee (Just down the Reedy River past Lake Conestee) sued Greenville for dumping raw sewage and industrial waste into the Reedy in a case that went to the state supreme court twice. 

    The Reedy became the most polluted river in the state and it is still advised not to swim in the water because it is supposedly too contaminated with E. Coli bacteria from human and animal waste. Some sources also advise that you don't fish in the River. At one point the Reedy had a nickname. It was called the Rainbow Reedy, because dyes from the textile mills changed it different colors. 

    Furman University was still located in Greenville during the city war and in fact it is said that James Clement Furman was instrumental in convincing Greenville to vote for succession, as it was traditionally a unionist stronghold. The University was located off of University Ridge Road where the old County square offices await demolition in preparation for a new commercial development that I believe will feature a rooftop cinema. Before it was county offices and after Furman left it had been an indoor mall. 

    Furman was closed during the civil war, as young men were expected to serve and many did, though Greenville was relatively untouched by the civil war and became a refuge for deserters and draft dodgers, especially in the North. The Baptist Female College (Furman's women's college) remained open at the corner of Academy and College streets. 

    Many of the families that the roads are named after (Earle, Caper, Elford, Perry, Jones) were involved in this time period of Greenville history and fought in the Civil War. I'm still tracking down family histories and I need to visit the library. 

    The city is coming alive to me in new ways as I learn more and map out the development. I'll have to compile some of what I find. I've yet to find one online source of Greenville Civil War history. It wasn't particularly eventful so many sources gloss over it. There was, however, an ambulance factory (the former Carriage factory whose building still stands by the Reedy downtown) and an ammunition factory.