Simpsonville was little more than a stop on the road between Greenville and Laurens, South Carolina, when a man named Peter Simpson moved to the area in the 1840s. Simpson became the postmaster and blacksmith for the area, then known as "Plain" or "Dry Ridge," and streets and churches began to spring up, creating a town. By the time of its incorporation in 1901, Simpsonville was thriving as a small railroad town, with a textile mill drawing more to the area in 1908. Under the leadership of two particularly influential and long-standing mayors, Dr. L.L. Richardson and Ralph Hendricks, Simpsonville grew throughout the 20th century to become the hub of commerce and development that it is today.