[9] In 1859, entrepreneur Jesse Kerr established a hotel and health resort at the mineral-rich Sulphur Springs near the base of Chilhowee Mountain several miles southeast of Morganton (the resort was located near the modern junction of US-129 and TN-336).

This resort was purchased by Indiana businessman Nathan McCoy in 1885, and a new 3-story, 60-room hotel was completed the following year.

Thompson moved his post office, still known as "Greenback," to the Swanay Brothers Store in the new town.

[10] By the late 1890s, Greenback had three stores, a barbershop, blacksmith shop, school, livery stables, a hotel, and two baseball teams (segregated between white and black players).

The Greenback Drug Company, opened in 1923, still stands and has served as a community restaurant and diner for the past few decades.

[10] Prior to the Great Depression, thirty-four commercial buildings were constructed in Greenback.

[10] Though the community's growth slowed, Greenback was officially incorporated in 1957, with Glenn McTeer as its first mayor.

[11] On September 22, 1964, one of the first confrontations between the Tennessee Valley Authority and conservation groups over the proposed Tellico Dam project took place in a meeting at Greenback High School.

TVA had called the meeting in hopes of gaining the support of locals, and the agency was surprised when most of the 400 or so in attendance vehemently opposed the project.

TVA Chairman Aubrey Wagner, who spoke on the Authority's behalf, was continuously interrupted throughout his speech.

At one point, Wagner was shouted down by legendary Monroe County judge Sue K. Hicks, who as president of the Fort Loudoun Association feared the destruction of the historic fort's site by the proposed dam's reservoir.

The relatively flat land in and around Greenback is part of a valley carved by Baker Creek, a tributary of the Little Tennessee River.

The Red Knobs, part of a heavily dissected ridge typical of the Appalachian Ridge-and-Valley range, rise just north of Greenback's city limits.