W. W. Burgiss was the first president of Victor Mill. He became a major real estate investor in Greer, in Greenville County, and in the West Palm Beach area of Florida. He became Greenville County's first major philanthropist, entirely funding the Greenville Shriner's Children's Hospital and the W.W. Burgiss Charities, which remains in operation to this day.
W. C. Bailey was the first station agent at the Greer's Depot in 1873; the founder and first Worshipful Master of the Bailey Masonic Lodge; and he was the first intendent (Mayor) of Greers.
Manning Greer is most notable for having the town named for him. He sold right-of-way to the railroad for track and the station that would become Greer's Station.
Clifford Harpst was a WW2 veteran who trained at Camp Croft in Spartanburg and later retired to Greer, where he became a beloved and awarded member of the community.
Willis Foster is the only Greer police officer to die in the line of duty, on July 2, 1904.
There is a great deal of confusion over the details of his life (and death). His name was Willis Foster, with middle initial of T or S. He is incorrectly listed on memorial monuments in Washington, DC and Columbia, SC as "William," as well as on a plaque at the Greer Heritage Museum. He went by a nickname, which is listed as "Zonk" on the Washington monument and as "Sonk" on the GHM plaque. He had three children, though he is sometimes listed as having two; and he died on July 2, 1904, though the Washington monument lists his death incorrectly as January 1, 1904.
On June 5, 2020, Bethany and Jonathan Lovegrove talked with Don Wall for about an hour. Later that day, Bethany wrote down these notes of the conversation.
