Greenwood, in what was originally the old Ninety Six District, got its name from the plantation located there in 1823-1824 by Judge John McGehee, and named "Green Wood" by his wife. The post office established there in 1837 was called Woodville, but local custom convinced the U.S. Post Office Department to change it officially to Greenwood in 1850, shortly before the Greenville and Columbia Railroad reached the town in 1852. When Greenwood County was created out of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties, the town became the county seat. The railroad depot, located in the middle of the main street, still dominated downtown Greenwood in this 1913 postcard view.
Courtesy of the Howard G. Woody Postcard Collection.