Greenville is a city located in Washington County in the state of Mississippi. Greenville is the largest city in northern Mississippi. The population of Greenville is around forty thousand, which makes it more plausible that there are famous or notable people living in this city.

This city is named after an American Revolutionary War hero named Nathaniel Greene. Greenville sits on the eastern shore of Lake Ferguson, which is a lake left over from an old channel of the Mississippi River. If you visit this part of Greenville, you’ll find a floating casino near downtown.

North of Greenville, you’ll find the Winterville Mounds Historic Site. This site includes a museum and a picnic area. There are also Indian burial mounds located in this area.

Greenville was home to some very remarkable people and also the birthplace of some of those remarkable people. Jim Henson, the famous puppeteer was born in Greenville. His works continue to delight children today. It was also the birthplace of Mary Wilson, who was a singer for The Supremes.

Shelby Foote, a famous author, was also born here. Professional baseball player, Frank White was born in Greenville. Also born in Greenville: archaeologist Theresa Helbach, Chinese-American journalist Sam Chu Lin, and World War II Medal of Honor recipient Robert T. Henry. As you can see, a colorful variety of people originated from this city. Greenville is also the hometown of the Percy family.

Le Roy Percy is a United States Senator and William Alexander Percy was an author who took charge of the Mississippi flood recovery in 1927. William Alexander Percy wrote an autobiography on the Mississippi Delta that was much more informative than any other . Walker Percy, another author, wrote a novel called “Love Among the Ruins.” An African-American bear hunter named Holt Collier is buried in Greenville. Holt Collier was a guide for President T. Roosevelt on a bear hunt at one point.

Betty Jo Crisler, also from Greenville, became one of the first Methodist women ministers on the Texas plains. Leon Whittaker was an African American trombonist who lived in Greenville in the early days of his career. Jerry Rice, who is a famous athlete, now resides in Greenville.

As you can see, Greenville has been very prosperous with famous and notable people. Throughout Greenville’s history there have been notable figures born and raised there. There were also several notable people who lived out some of their days in this city.