Greensboro was founded circa 1780; in 1787, it was designated seat of the newly formed Greene County. It was incorporated as a town in 1803 and as a city in 1855. The city was named for Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the rebel American forces at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781.
Geography
Greensboro is located at the center of Greene County at . U.S. Route 278 passes through the city center as Broad Street, leading east to Union Point and west to Madison. Georgia State Route 44 leads southwest from Greensboro to Eatonton. State Route 15 leads north to Athens and southeast to Sparta. The city limits extend southwest along SR 44 for so as to include Exit 130 on Interstate 20. I-20 leads east to Augusta and west to Atlanta. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Greensboro has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.99%, is water. The city is in the Oconee River watershed and is located east of Lake Oconee and southeast of Oconee National Forest.
Demographics
As of the census of the year 2000, there were 3,238 people, 1,184 households, and 806 families residing in this town. The population density was 556.5 people per square mile. There were 1,264 housing units at an average density of 217.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of this town was 33.45% White, 62.01% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 2.66% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.34% of the population. There were 1,184 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were married couples living together, 29.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.22. In this town the population was distributed with 29.3% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age of its inhabitants was about 32 years. For every 100 females, there were about 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were about 78.5 males. The median income per household in this town was $24,250, and the median income for a family was $27,049. Males had a median income of $22,788 versus $15,720 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,494. About 26.4% of the towns families and 31.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.2% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those age 65 or over.
The Greene County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of two elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and a charter school. The district has 158 full-time teachers and over 2,280 students.
William Crosby Dawson, former congressman and U.S. senator from Georgia; born, died, and buried in Greensboro
Augustus Baldwin Longstreet, lawyer and early American humorist writer, represented Greene County in the state legislature in 1821.
Mickey Mantle, center fielder for the New York Yankees, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, lived in Greensboro during his final years after retiring from the Yankees
