Greene County dates to 1786 when it became the 11th county desig­nated. Both the county and its seat of government, Greensboro (despite the different spelling), honor Nathaniel Greene who ranked next to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. A native of Rhode Island, Greene was given a tract of Georgia land at the close of the war. It was several years later that he took up residence in the more southerly state where he lived for only one year before dying of a sunstroke.