Minkakwa, Kewan, and Pamrapo

What became Greenville was the territory of the Hackensack and Raritan Indians at the time of European contact in the 17th century. They called the area on Bergen Neck Minkakwa (alternatively spelled Minelque and Minackqua) meaning "a place of good crossing". This is likely so because it was the most convenient pass between the two bays on either side of the neck. Interpreted as "place where the coves meet", in this case where they are closest to each, it describes a spot advantageous for portage.^[13] The area was first settled by New Netherlanders in 1647.^[14] The Caven Point settlement on the west shore of the Upper New York Bay between Pamrapo and Communipaw was part of Pavonia, which, upon receiving its municipal charter in 1661 was renamed Bergen. The name Caven is an anglicisation of the Dutch word Kewan,^[15] which in turn was a "Batavianized"^[16] derivative of an Algonquian word meaning "peninsula".^[17]

Bergen, Greenville, Jersey

Greenville in 1872, one year before consolidation

During the British and early American colonial era the area was part of Bergen Township. The 19th century Jersey City and Bergen Point Plank Road (today's Garfield Avenue) ran through Greenville (from Paulus Hook to Bergen Point). Greenville became part of the newly formed Hudson County in 1840. The town grew as a fashionable suburb of New York City.^[18] Greenville Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 14, 1863, from portions of Bergen Town.^[19] It was absorbed into Jersey City on February 4, 1873, ending its life as an independent municipality.^[19][20] Armbruster's Greenville Schuetzen Park on Hudson Boulevard opened in the 1870s.^[21]

20th century

Greenville was settled by many working-class Irish Catholic families, as well as other ethnic groups. The area's demographics changed dramatically starting in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, with the decline of factories and the collapse of the independent railroad lines. The neighborhood east of Kennedy Boulevard was later settled by African Americans, while that west of Kennedy Boulevard is more diverse with a sizable Filipino population. Greenville also has a sizable Hispanic and Egyptian population, and many of the older Irish residents still remain in the neighborhood.

21st century

In 2005, Jersey City enacted a curfew for business owners on some of Greenville, including Martin Luther King Drive and Ocean Avenue.^[22] On the West Side of Greenville, New Jersey City University unveiled plans for a $350 million expansion into the West Side neighborhood surrounding the university, including a performance art building with two theaters, retail stores, a restaurant, and student housing.^[23]

During the 2010s Greenville underwent a revitalization, with the return of long-term residents and businesses.^[24][25] The section around Jackson Hill has seen considerable local and federal infrastructure spending.

The area is considered, relative to Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, to be an affordable part of the New York City region. A number of Ultra-Orthodox Jews and young Jewish and Hispanic families have purchased homes and built a growing community in Greenville.^[26][27] Since the mid-2010s Jersey City has experienced a rise in Hasidic Orthodox Jews, who are moving to Greenville from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, attracted by the relatively low housing price. While the relationship between the local African American community and the Orthodox Jewish community is good, there have been complaints that Jewish buyers solicited them to sell their houses, prompting the city council to pass a no-knock ordinance that barred investors from going door-to-door.^[26][28] A kosher market in the community was the site of a shootout in the 2019 Jersey City shooting.^{[29][30][31][32]}

Increasing gentrification continues to make Greenville more multicultural.^[33]