History
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Converse Heights is one of Spartanburg's earliest suburbs, with most of its houses built between 1906 and 1950. The area was originally the antebellum plantation of Govan Mills (1805-1862), and in 1906 his heirs sold the property to Spartanburg Realty Company for development. Mills Avenue is named for Govan Mills. Converse Heights takes its name from Converse College, a private women's college across East Main Street founded in 1889. With a mix of modest and larger houses, the neighborhood includes examples of Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman architectural styles. Governors John Gray Evans (1863-1942), James F. Byrnes (1882-1972), and Donald F. Russell (1906-1998) lived here. Happy Hollow, one of the city's oldest playgrounds, stands in the heart of the neighborhood. The Converse Heights Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
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Spartanburg, South Carolina · United States
