In the late 1890s, the area that is today known as the Greater Glenwood Neighbourhood was located outside of the city limits of Greensboro and consisted primarily of farmland.
As far back as there are records, residential development in the area formerly known as Glenwood began around 1906. It was located in an L-shaped area bounded by Lexington Avenue and the streets Florida and Portland Streets, as well as Oak Street, McCormick Street, and West Lee Street, among other streets.
There had been previous platting of adjacent regions, which had received different names at the time, however only a few of these names are still in use today. Aycock Street was known as Piedmont Heights, and the area through which Lovett Street runs was known as Mt. Vernon Heights. Areas to the east of Lexington Avenue were known as Silver Run Park and Jackson Park, while the area west of Aycock Street was known as Piedmont Heights, and the area through which Lovett Street runs was known as Mt. Vernon Heights.
In March of 1909, the Carolina Real Estate & Investment Company began building on the first 50 residences on the property. Because homeowners could choose a home from a catalog of conventional floor designs, the construction methods utilized were groundbreaking at the time, and all lumber arrived at the construction site pre-cut and ready to assemble.
One unique marketing strategy employed by Carolina Real Estate & Investment Company entailed offering the State of North Carolina 25 acres of free land in Glenwood in order to attract the state capital to relocate from Raleigh to Greensboro, NC area. This was one of the company’s most successful campaigns. The state, on the other hand, graciously declined this offer.
Despite this, the American Suburban Corporation had already begun work on homes in the Piedmont Heights neighborhood as early as 1905, well before development on Glenwood began. A developer by the name of S. J. Stern purchased the remainder of Piedmont Heights sometime around 1922. It was then that he began platting an additional 500 lots and resuming construction of modestly priced but fully equipped residences.
Stern marketed the homes using an innovative payment plan, which contributed to meeting the high demand for affordable housing in Greensboro at the time.
The majority of the Greater Glenwood neighborhood was annexed by the City of Greensboro in 1923, making it the oldest neighborhood in the city. In the years 1954 to 1957, the remainder of the neighborhood was annexed in a number of portions.