- Greenwood
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/green"wood'/, n.1. a city in W South Carolina. 21,613.2. a city in NW Mississippi. 20,115.3. a town in central Indiana. 19,327.
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city, seat (1871) of Leflore county, northwestern Mississippi, U.S. It lies along the Yazoo River, 96 miles (154 km) north of Jackson. The original settlement (1834), known as Williams Landing, was incorporated (1844) and named for the Choctaw chieftain Greenwood Leflore, a wealthy cotton planter. The town thrived as a shipping point for cotton on its way down the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, but its trade was paralyzed during the American Civil War. Greenwood was used as a Confederate defensive post during the Union's siege of Vicksburg in 1863, and Fort Pemberton, built between the Tallahatchie (Tallahatchie River) and Yazoo rivers, withstood a Union gunboat attack.The city's extensive cotton market is supplemented by other agriculture (including catfish farming) and some light manufacturing (including pianos and picture frames). Mississippi Valley State University (1950) is in nearby Itta Bena. Florewood River Plantation State Park, a re-creation of an 1850s cotton plantation, is 2 miles (3 km) west; Cottonlandia Museum, which includes artifacts from the cotton industry, the Civil War, and local Native Americans, is also nearby. Pop. (1990) 18,906; (2000) 18,425.city, seat (1897) of Greenwood county, western South Carolina, U.S. The city lies at the northern entrance to the Long Cane Ranger District of Sumter National Forest. It was first settled in 1824 by John McGehee, and its growth was stimulated by the arrival (1852) of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad. Four other railroads converged to make it a transportation centre. Textile mills were built and cotton shipped. Lander University (founded 1872 in Williamston) moved there in 1904, and Piedmont Technical College opened in 1966. A few miles east are the Ninety Six National Historic Site (site of Star Fort, a British stronghold during the American Revolution) and Lake Greenwood State Park; the lake is impounded on the Saluda River by Buzzard Roost Dam. The economy is based on textile manufacturing, supplemented by light industries. Inc. town, 1857; city, 1927. Pop. (1990) 20,807; (2000) 22,071.county, western South Carolina, U.S. It consists of a hilly piedmont region bordered to the northeast by Lake Greenwood, which is impounded on the Saluda River by Buzzard Roost Dam. Lake Greenwood State Park and a portion of Sumter National Forest are within the county's borders.The Ninety Six National Historic Site commemorates an 18th-century trading centre at a junction of Indian paths and colonial roads. During the U.S. War of Independence (American Revolution) the area was a Tory stronghold. The war's first battle in South Carolina was fought in 1775 at the Ninety Six fort; six years later a 28-day patriot assault finally drove out the British. The area was a cotton-growing region until soil erosion, boll weevil infestations, and economic changes led to its becoming largely forested after the mid-20th century. Greenwood county was established in 1897; the city of Greenwood is the county seat.Agriculture (cattle and eggs), lumbering, and industry (clothing and other textile products and electronic and technical equipment) form the basis of the economy. Area 456 square miles (1,180 square km). Pop. (2000) 66,271; (2007 est.) 68,259.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
