In the 1830’s Peter Simpson settled here as a blacksmith at the intersection of the Old Stage Road and a well traveled Cherokee trail.  He was soon followed by settlers who built a store and a post office with a simple name:  Plain.  Our town grew slowly until after the Civil War when freed slaves built a church and gins processed cotton from surrounding farms.  By 1886 Plain was renamed Simpsonville and as the town surpassed four hundred residents in 1907, local leaders petitioned the Woodside brothers to built a cotton mill that would place Simpsonville firmly in the throes of an industrializing upcountry.  Peter Simpson’s foundry would become the forge of a dynamic city.

From our earliest days, family has been the cornerstone of this place. We built schools to educate our children, centers for recreation, and fields to play ball that remain in place to this day.  Our schools and parks are places where the bonds of community are formed.  Here, families with deep roots stand side by side with those who have discovered that this place offers the very best of our growing region:  the charm of a small town, abundant choices for living, national businesses, and locally owned shops and restaurants.  We are building trails to connect our neighborhoods and spaces for people to gather.

We are the stage of the upstate.  Performers come here from around the world to share their art with the people of our region.  Music wafts from venues in the heart of downtown and the sounds echo the spirit of a place that has the vision to dream big and the wisdom to understand that we value life in a true community.  We are a place where the tempo of a vibrant region intersects with the rhythm of a small town.

We are a child eating an ice cream cone, a friendly wave from a neighbor, a warm embrace among friends, a patriotic memorial to our veterans, a historic mill converted to lofts, a clock tower standing sentinel, and a city with confidence in its future.  Our credo is simple:  celebrate our past, embrace change that is sure to come, and curate the right balance for our hometown.