The 1-Hour Greenville History and More Walking Tour

Every good tour needs a photo spot, and the Camperdown Mural is the best one for this tour. This particular mural changes about every three months.

Camperdown is a major attraction in the area, but it used to be a center of manufacturing for Greenville during it's textile days.

Brown Street was instrumental in the founding of early American music, especially Jazz. Walk down the same street that some of America's foundational musicians practiced on.

Joel Roberts Poinsett was one of two men who made Greenville, SC, into a real city. He did much more than that, including growing the first Poinsettia, but we need to save some info for your tour.

The 1-Hour Greenville History and More Walking Tour

We will also discuss the controversial side of history. From the tragedy of the Civil War to the bad decisions made by Greenville's founder, Richard Pearis.

This area includes multiple war memorials, ranging from the Civil War to around WW2. Artifact cannons dot the area as well, providing a real artifact to check out.

Connolly's Irish Pub is not only a bit of history, but a major entertainment spot for the area. If you would like to hear about things to do on the tour as well as history, let us know.

Greenville, SC's textile buildings have been expertly maintained. According to some accounts, this one produced around 1 million products a month at it's height.

Springwood Cemetery's oldest graves are unreadable, but stand as a stark icon to the history of Greenville. Find out why most of them are above ground on the tour.

Duration1h

Free cancellationFull refund up to 24 hours before

Instant confirmationYour booking is confirmed right away

TicketMobile or paper ticket accepted

LanguagesEnglish

Group sizeUp to 20 travelers

Overview

The biggest difference is customization. We change it up as we walk depending on what you tell us. No other tour in Greenville lets you customize every detail. We also know more about modern Greenville, SC, than anyone else in town. Every day our guides read and study more about the area. Crossed Roads Tour guides all grew up in the area. We have special insights that the many tours coming from outside simply cannot have.

And the final difference, is honesty. We'll actually tell you whether a restaurant is good or bad, and whether an activity is worth doing. Even if that means upsetting a particular restaurant or business, we'll give you the truth.

What's included

In-person Guide

What to expect

Greenville
45m

Crossed Roads Tours provides the best tour in Greenville, South Carolina, because we customize it for you. No other operator in the area does this. We talk with you about what you want specifically and then change our tour based on that.

All of the below events are actually optional. We travel to different areas based on your feedback, and we'll actually ask you during the tour if you're enjoying this particular path or would like to change it.
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The Huguenot Mill and Loft is an incredibly beautiful historic building. Expertly maintained, it was originally where the French Protestants created a new life for themselves. They became a huge part of our textile industry, and now you can check out the incredible exterior. (It now serves as private offices and a wedding spot, so we need to remain outside).
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The Camperdown Plaza area hosted many of Greenville's prominent textile mills. Today it hosts an incredible selection of art and fun things to do.
Joel Roberts Poinsett Statue
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This iconic statue actually has it's own page on TripAdvisor. Poinsett did a huge number of things we'll go over on the tour, but the biggest thing for Greenville was acting as our early PR guy. In his role as a Secretery of War, and in many of his other roles, he told a massive number of people about Greenville. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to grow into a real city, as no one would have heard of us. We'll save the rest of his achievements for your tour.
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Connolly's Irish Pub is both a piece of history, and one of the more popular bars in current Greenville. It has a very unusual history over the years. Rumors are that it was a brothel in the early 1900s, and a pharmacy a bit later on. The mural on the side gives it a bit of extra extra info for your tour, showing you a look at Greenville in the early 1900s.
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The old American Cigar Factory is quite beautiful from the outside, which is how you'll see it. It mostly used as office space, and no longer has the huge amount of cigars being made there anymore. Still, it is an important part of Greenville History because according to some sources, the workers made around 1 million cigars a month. It provided a strong livelihood for both men and women in Greenville during the 1900s, although many reports say that the weavers were mostly female.
5m

Coffee Underground is the most popular coffee spot in Greenville, SC. It's also an awesome view of what the historic tunnels that run under Greenville look like. To this day there are dozens of sealed-up tunnels under the city, used during the bootlegging days. This store is open almost all day, so you should be able to go inside and check out the history.
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Brown Street was the center of a lot of early music history, including the roots of jazz. It also contains several cool restaurants, including a piano bar, for you.
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Max Heller was our former mayor, and a champion of both the desegregation and the revival of Greenville. He's known for bringing a lot of life and unity to the city. We don't want to spoil his entire history for you here, so look forward to it on the tour.
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Blu Lounge and Club was originally the Blue Martini, a famous club and speakeasy in the early 1900s. We'll see the exterior, discuss what happened there in history, and perhaps even hear about the ghosts that still haunt it.
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This entry is for the war monuments and memorials located on this section of main street. It contains dedications to groups from the Civil War to around World War 2. While this is an ugly side of history, it is important to most people who would enjoy a tour like this. If the topic of the Civil War offends you, please let us know and we can try to make some accomodations.

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point

Look for a man in front of the Westin Poinsett with a sign. Your guide will sit on the fountain directly outside the front doors. Parking can be found directly behind the Westin Poinsett in the Poinsett Garage, and there is also the nearby Laurens Street Garage.

End point

For guests who need the tour to end in the West End area, we can actually just end at this small deli and grocery store.

End point

We can also just end at the starting point.

End point

We normally end here so that the guests can get something to drink or use the restrooms at this establishment. Over 200 different items, including a variety of ciders, meads, wines, and beers. They also have tons of non-alcoholic options.

Additional information

Wheelchair accessible
Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Public transportation options are available nearby
Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

Cancellation policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Reviews

5.0 (107)

From

$20.00 per person

Check availability & book

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts
Instant confirmation
You'll choose your date and travelers and pay on viator.com. Prices vary by date, group size and option.

Operated by Crossed Roads Tours · Booked through Viator

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