Special thanks to Gerald Wilder from Wilder Brothers and to The Williamsburgh Historical Society Museum in Kingstree, SC.
Little remains of what was once a bustling town full of prosperous mom-and-pop businesses and residents filling the streets. Greeleyville, South Carolina, has always been "a safe place to live." Still, sadly, more was needed to keep people living there. With a small population of 438 citizens, the locals do what they can to keep the town and its traditions alive. Greeleyville's seal and flag speak volumes of the town's values, which remain strong today despite the weakened population and lack of patronage. A depiction of the area's first Town Hall, which was built in the 1890s, and two arms, one black and one white, holding a tobacco leaf and a cotton bowl, are featured on the principal emblems of the town. This illustration represents the unity and cooperation among all the people of Greeleyville and acknowledges the town's agricultural heritage.
The initial settlement of Greeleyville dates back to the late nineteenth century. A veteran of the American Civil War, Samuel J. Taylor, and his partner S. J. Hudson happened upon the rural area once home to the Wee Nee, Wee Tee, and Mingoes Native American Tribes, who used the region as hunting grounds. A fragment of its original native population still exists today. Known as the Goins Indian Community, what is left of the early inhabitants have resided just north of Greeleyville since the mid-nineteenth century. Taylor and Hudson bought several hundred acres of timber and began the manufacture of turpentine and rosin. After three successful years, S. J. bought out his partner and began to work with his brother-in-law, W. S. Varner. S. J. Hudson remains a prominent figure in Greeleyville's history and received half of the credit for incorporating the town.
S. J. Taylor brought affluence to the area using his expertise in the mercantile industry. Although his timber resources were exhausted after 15 years, Taylor decided to remain in the promising town for financial and sentimental reasons. He owned over 1,000 acres within present-day town limits. He would offer land to every hardworking and able man willing to build a home in the area. Taylor and the town's other residents had hoped for the sense of community found in other towns across America during its early years. In pursuit of this, he would also contribute land freely for streets, churches, and schools being built in the area.
Greeleyville was named for the American newspaper editor, former congressman, and unsuccessful candidate in the 1872 presidential election, Horace Greeley. Samuel J. was a loyal supporter of Greeley and the new Liberal Republican Party. When he presented the idea of naming the town to residents, the majority voted to name it in honor of Greeley. However, it did come close to being called Taylorsville after S. J. himself had he not admired the writings of Greeley. Greeley visited the town once; according to local lore, he became stranded there while campaigning for presidency. On December 20, 1893, the town was officially chartered as Greeleyville.
Samuel J. Taylor and S. J. Hudson are commonly listed as the founders of Greeleyville. Yet, Thomas Walter Boyle was a key figure in its development during the early 20th century. He held several important positions in the town, including vice president of the Mallard Lumber Company and president of the Bank of Greeleyville and the Greeleyville Land & Improvement Company. Mallard Lumber Company became the leading enterprise of the town by 1904, a thriving organization that shipped a variety of lumber north for sale. Shortly after World War I, the Mallard Lumber Company was unfortunately destroyed by a fire. Boyle's hard work in local manufacturing, merchandising, and other fields considerably furthered the expansion and success of Greeleyville. Before Boyle arrived in 1886, the town had a sawmill, a single store, and two dwelling houses. Greeleyville was characterized by various forms of industry and enterprise within 35 short years.
The charming town once had a fertilizer plant known as the Santee Guano Company, two cotton gins, and a telephone exchange. Before the depression, it had two banks. The well-known and still thriving today, Bank of Greeleyville opened in 1909, and the Farmers Bank in 1919. In 1935, the Greeleyville Cash Depository was founded, and by 1955, it was acquired by the Bank of Greeleyville.
Today, the main office for the Bank of Greeleyville remains in the town with a branch in Kingstree.
Sadly, most sources of employment once thriving in Greeleyville and available to the townsfolk were no longer existent by the mid-twentieth century. This led to many residents seeking work in outside communities, contributing to the small town's downfall. In 1978, the town gained a medical center, and then in 1982, it gained a pharmacy on the site of the town's former mule and livery stable. Greeleyville's only chain grocery store, IGA, moved to a more prominent location with more parking in 1984. The grocery corporation decided to close the establishment, and a Super G Foods Store opened in the same location before going out of business in 2008. The twenty-first century saw many shops in downtown Greeleyville abandoned due to competition with big-box stores and other companies along Highway 521.
Today, Greeleyville is much smaller than it was during its prime. A handful of businesses are still succeeding in the diminishing town, including Mishoe Oil, Randy's Diesel, Greeleyville Pharmacy, and Wilder Brothers Williamsburg House, among others. Despite the hardships it has faced with the changing times, Greeleyville remains a community of charm and beauty as it did over 130 years ago.
