The county name was to honor American Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene.

[2] Due to their proximity to the Cumberland Trace, the town and the county grew rapidly.

Due to the heyday of the town and county being between 1794 and 1840, almost all the outstanding architecture is pre-1840, as after that year the population decreased in favor of other areas in Kentucky, as the Cumberland Trace gave way to railroads and steamboats for transportation.

It also means that the basic structure of Kentucky seats built around 1800 is largely intact.

[2][4] Thomas Metcalfe, future Kentucky state governor, was one of the builders of the Old Courthouse building.