Greensboro

Greensboro, city in northern North Carolina and seat of Guilford County, near Winston-Salem and High Point; the three cities are known collectively as the Piedmont Triad. It is a commercial, manufacturing, and distribution center for the surrounding agricultural area and a headquarters for the insurance industry. The main economic activity is the production of cotton textiles. Other manufactures include microchips, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, electrical machinery, tobacco products, and building materials. The city is served by Piedmont Triad International Airport.

Greensboro is home to Guilford College (1837), Greensboro College (1838), Bennett College (1873), a campus (established in 1891) of the University of North Carolina, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (1891), and a junior college. Points of interest include the Greensboro Historical Museum, the Greensboro Arboretum, the Natural Science Center, and Blandwood Mansion—built in the late 1700s and the former home of North Carolina Governor John Motley Morehead. The Weatherspoon Art Gallery, on the University of North Carolina campus, has an extensive collection of modern art. The nearby Guilford Courthouse National Military Park commemorates a battle in 1781 during the American Revolution that led to the British forces abandoning the Carolinas. The Eastern Music Festival is held each summer at Guilford College.

Greensboro was established and incorporated as a town in 1808 after state legislators determined a more centralized seat of government was needed for Guilford County. It is named in honor of General Nathanael Greene, who led the United States forces at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. City incorporation took place in 1870. Dolley Madison, wife of U.S. President James Madison; O. Henry, the short-story writer; and Edward R. Murrow, journalist, were born in the area. In 1960 four black college students sat at a whites-only lunch counter in downtown Greensboro, beginning a nationwide non-violent “sit-in” movement to protest racial discrimination (see Civil Rights Movement in the United States). In the 1990s the city began a revitalization program of its historic downtown business district.

Greensboro covers a land area of 271 sq km (105 sq mi), with a mean elevation of 255 m (837 ft). According to the 2000 census, whites are 55.5 percent of the population, blacks 37.4 percent, Asians 2.8 percent, and Native Americans 0.4 percent. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders represent less than 0.1 percent of the population. The remainder are of mixed heritage or did not report race. Hispanics, who may be of any race, are 4.4 percent of the people. Population 155,642 (1980); 183,521 (1990); 223,891 (2000); 231,962 (2005 estimate).