Greenville, FL

The 2020 census counted 746 residents in Greenville, a Madison County town. Settlers arrived around 1850 when the place was known as Sandy Ford; during the Civil War, its railroad stop became Station Five on the Pensacola and Georgia line. The town incorporated in 1907 and now sits along U.S. 90, about 13 miles east of Madison and 16 miles northwest of Monticello. The Suwannee River belongs to the broader landscape around this west-central part of the county.

ATTRMichael Rivera / CC BY-SA 4.0

Greenville's most recognizable cultural connection is Ray Charles, who grew up here after his family moved from Albany, Georgia. The Ray Charles Childhood Home remains part of the town's local map, alongside Greenville Elementary and the Madison County school system. Middle-school students attend Madison County Central School and older students Madison County High School, tying the town's education routines to countywide institutions. Greenville's story therefore joins a railroad-era settlement, a highway corridor, and a music history that reaches far beyond Madison County.