Greenville's original name was Butlerville. After becoming the County Seat in 1822 its name was changed to Greenville, in remembrance of the former locale in South Carolina of many of the original settlers. The first County Seat was at Fort Dale, a fortification that was named for Sam Dale, who fought to defend the area during the Creek Indian War. The site of Fort Dale lies on the north of the city near the Fort Dale Cemetery, along what is now Alabama Highway 185.
The namesake of the county, Captain William Butler, was killed during the Creek Indian War. He is buried in the Pioneer Cemetery, which is across from the oldest church in Butler County, the First United Methodist Church of Greenville.
The downtown layout is interesting, as most small Southern towns laid out in the early nineteenth century have a central square. Greenville's downtown is bordered on one end by the Butler County Courthouse, which is at the intersection of Commerce and Conecuh Streets, with the streets forming a roundabout around the building. The appearance of the courthouse was adversely affected by the early 1970s addition of a marble Greek Revival façade, which clashes with the red brick of the remainder of the Federal style edifice. A copper dome sits upon a 75 feet tall clock tower at the front of the building.
At the other end of the downtown area is a Spanish Colonial Style train depot next to an early twentieth century masonry railroad bridge. Commerce Street dips under this bridge as it continues to the western parts of the city. The hundred-year-old buildings around the depot show signs of decay, but the depot itself is well maintained, although it is no longer used as a train stop.
The Post Office and City Hall sit nearly in the middle of downtown, on Commerce Street, across from Confederate Park. Both buildings are attractive brick buildings, built in the 1920s and 1930s in the Federal style. Confederate Park covers one block and has a life-sized statue of a Confederate soldier and a large fountain. Also near the center of downtown is the Ritz Theater, a 1930s art deco style structure. The building is a beautiful movie theater that the Greenville Arts Council and Mrs. Roberta Gamble, a local drama teacher, saved from certain demolition in the 1980s. Most of the uptown and downtown business structures are of the neoclassic or Federal style. All of the power and communication lines are buried, giving the downtown area a cleaner look that period streetlights accent.
The city's residents were featured on the premiere episode of the ABC reality/game show series My Kind of Town, on Sunday, August 14, 2005.
Greenville has gained national attention of late because it is home to one of the premier golf courses on the Robert Trent Jones golf trail, Cambrian Ridge. The clubhouse for the golf course was built on the highest point in Butler County. Greenville is also the home of the Watermelon Jubilee, a locally popular arts and crafts exposition.
Beth Chapman, the incumbent Alabama Secretary of State is a native of Greenville.
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,228 people, 2,919 households, and 1,929 families residing in the city. The population density was 341.7 people per square mile (132.0/km²). There were 3,324 housing units at an average density of 157.1/sq mi (60.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 50.69% White, 48.31% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.30% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,919 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% were married couples living together, 23.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,106, and the median income for a family was $27,167. Males had a median income of $29,236 versus $20,125 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,439. About 24.8% of families and 30.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.4% of those under age 18 and 26.1% of those age 65 or over.