Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Greenville, TX

Greenville was established in 1846 as the seat of Hunt County on land donated by McQuinney Howell Wright and James G. Bourland, and it was named for General Thomas J. Green, who fought in the Texas Revolution.

Greenville was laid out on the Republic of Texas's National Road, an ox-wagon trail from Jefferson to Austin, about 52 miles northeast of Dallas on the Sabine River.

Greenville incorporated in 1873 and boomed as a cotton-ginning and shipping point in the 1880s, when eight railroads converged on the town.

At the end of the 19th century Greenville was one of the largest inland cotton markets in the world, and a Greenville cotton compress twice set world records for cotton production in the early 20th century.

The Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum, opened in 1987, preserves the history of the American cotton industry and honors Audie Murphy, the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, who grew up picking cotton in Hunt County.

Greenville's economy shifted from farming toward industry after a Chance Vought Aircraft plant located there in 1951, the ancestor of today's major defense-aerospace presence in the city.

During World War II, the Army Air Corps training airfield Majors Field opened just outside Greenville.

Downtown Greenville is anchored by the Hunt County Courthouse, an Art Deco building completed in 1929.

Greenville had a population of 28,164 at the 2020 census, with about 11,774 households counted in Census Bureau figures for 2020-2024.

Only about 53% of Greenville's homes are owner-occupied, a lower share than Texas as a whole, reflecting its large stock of rental housing.