[2] Established in 1811, the county was named for General Nathanael Greene of the American Revolutionary War.

in 1830, President Andrew Jackson gained passage of the Indian Removal Act by Congress, and proceeded to force the Choctaw and other of the Five Civilized Tribes out of the Southeast to lands west of the Mississippi River.

Along with neighboring Jones and Perry counties, Greene is characterized by its sandy soil and Piney Woods.

[4] The county economy originally depended on subsistence farmers who ran herds of cattle and hogs, which were allowed to roam freely in the pine forests and bush.

Together with the game they hunted, residents sold the meat animals to markets in Mobile, Alabama, the nearest commercial center.

[5] While some farmers tried to cultivate cotton because of the high prices when the market was strong, most in this area had small farms and the owners held few enslaved African Americans.

[6] The rural county had strong declines in population from 1940 to 1960, a period when many African Americans left for the West Coast in the second wave of the Great Migration.

The buildup of defense industries in California and other states before and during World War II attracted many migrants for work opportunities.