In 1838, Greene County citizens voted to move the county seat from Erie to Eutaw, and Eutaw was incorporated as a town by an act of the state legislature on January 2, 1841. Greene County was named for General Nathaniel Greene, and the name Eutaw was chosen to honor the Battle of Eutaw Springs, fought in South Carolina in 1781, where Greene defeated the British. Because the county bore his name, the town was named for his famous victory. The word “Eutaw” comes from the aborigines’ language, characterizing the South Carolina Indians as the “Highlanders” or “The Hill Dwellers.” The proposed town was surveyed and laid out by Robert G. Quarles in December 1838. In August 2000, Raymond Steele was elected as Eutaw’s first African American mayor.