The Greenville post office opened in 1871. The town was named for its first postmaster, A. W. Green.
Bank robbery of 1901
On November 16, 1901, one Mr. Brown opened the bank in Greenville and discovered that the bank had been robbed. The vault handle had been removed, explosives placed into the opening, and the vault door blown off.
Three men were seen later in Spencer, then Webb, and finally Albert City where they were cornered at the depot. A gunfight ensued, during which one of the gunmen was killed. The other two were captured and later sentenced to life terms in Fort Madison, while the dead gunman was buried in an unnamed grave in Fairfield Cemetery in Albert City.
Sixty-four empty shells were picked up in the depot after the fight.