Converse Heights
Converse Heights is one of Spartanburg’s earliest suburbs, with most of the houses built between 1906 and 1950. This area was originally the antebellum plantation of Govan Mills (1805-1862). In 1906 Mills’ heirs sold the property to Spartanburg Realty Company for development. Mills Avenue is named for Govan Mills. Converse Heights is named for Converse College, the private women’s college across East Main Street, which was founded in 1889.
A mix of modest and larger houses, this area includes examples of the Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Craftsman architectural styles. Governors John Gary Evans (1863-1942), James F. Byrnes (1882-1972), and Donald F. Russell (1906-1998) lived here. Happy Hollow Park, one of the city’s oldest playgrounds, is in the heart of the neighborhood. The Converse Heights Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Where it stands. at the intersection of Mills Ave. & E. Main St., Spartanburg, Spartanburg