The town of Greenland was first established with a post office named Rugby around 1882. In 1886 the name was changed to Staunton and in 1909, the name Greenland was adopted.

When the St Louis & San Francisco railroad came to the area in the early 1880's, a stop was established at what is now Greenland with a depot. Six passenger trains and numerous freight trains a day made this railroad a busy operation. The rail operation peaked in the 1940's with a lot of military personnel and freight traffic. Such a busy operation inevitably resulted in train wrecks. One such accident occurred in Greenland (Staunton) in 1897 resulting in a number of cattle escaping but no serious injuries were reported according to Winn.

County court records indicate a school was operating near what is now Greenland called Frog Pond as early as 1877. It is said to have been on the property where the Fayetteville airport now exists. Several buildings were used for schools and a brick building was built in the 1920's. Several schools have been consolidated into the Greenland District with the latest being Winslow in recent years. Some of these early consolidations, caused the District to establish one of the first school "bus" systems with the first being horse drawn covered wagons with a stove in the middle for winter. Motorized vehicles were brought in sometime around the 1930's.

As with many areas in the County, apple orchards were a common sight on the hills and valleys around Greenland. The best apples were packed in barrels for shipment by rail and the remainder were either dried or used to make cider.

Greenland merchants have included Jacob Yoes in early years,and more recently, the Crider family.

Bibliography:
Washington County Postoffices and Postmasters 1829-1976 by Deane Carter, published 1976 by Washington Co Historical Society
School Days, School Days, a history of Washington County schools by Marie Rouse
Images of America, Washington County Arkansas by Velda Brotherton
Railroads of Northwest Arkansas by Robert G Winn

Click here for a map to Greenland