In Conversation with Courtney Tollison

Places Greenville’s experience during World War I within the context of the progressive era to better understand the rise of this New South city Greenville, South Carolina has become an attractive destination, frequently included in lists of the “Best Small Cities” in America. While Greenville’s twenty-first-century Renaissance has been impressive, in “Our Country First, Then Greenville,” Courtney L. Tollison Hartness explores an earlier period, revealing how Greenville’s experience during World War I served to generate massive development in the city and the region. It was this moment that catalyzed Greenville’s development into a modern city, setting the stage for the continued growth that persists into the present-day. “Our Country First, Then Greenville” explores Greenville’s home-front experience of race relations, dramatic population growth (the number of Greenville residents nearly tripled between 1900 and 1930s), the women’s suffrage movement, and the contributions of African Americans and women to Greenville’s history. This important work features photos of Greenville, found in archival collections throughout the country and dating back over one hundred years.

Dr. Courtney Tollison is the Distinguished University Public Historian and Scholar at Furman University. Previously, she served as the Founding Historian for the Upcountry History Museum-Furman University and Founding Director of the Furman University Oral History Project. She specializes in modern American history, particularly in South Carolina and the Upstate, and in Public History. She has been a Fulbright Scholar (Ukraine) and a fellow in Columbia University’s Oral History Research Office, a recipient of a grant from ASIANetwork’s Faculty Enhancement Program (India) and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Military History Instructors Program at Fort Leavenworth, and the Riley Institute’s Diversity Leadership Initiative. She has published three books, curated three museum exhibits, worked on several documentaries, conducted over 100 oral histories, and served as historian for memorials, markers, and sculptures throughout downtown Greenville, including the Major Rudolf Anderson Memorial. As a public historian, Tollison maintains an active presence in the humanities across the state. She is a State Chairperson for National Votes for Women Trail and serves on the boards of the S.C. Historical Society, Humanities Council SC, S.C. Sesquicentennial Commission of the Civil War, S.C. Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the Advisory Board of the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation, and Christ Church Episcopal School Alumni Board. She also served as the Program Chair for Greenville’s Year of Altruism. She has been featured on WYFF-TV, WSPA-TV, SC-ETV, SC-ETV Radio, and has published in The Greenville News, TOWN, Belle, Post and Courier (Charleston), and the Greenville Journal, where she writes a regular column on local history. In addition to many local publications, she has also been interviewed in nationally prominent publications like The Boston Globe, USA Today, the History Channel, and ABC News.