Greensboro, the county seat of Greene County, was first chartered in 1786. The city, spelled Greensborough at the time, was the first town in America to be burned to the ground and its inhabitants killed by Native Americans. The city was later incorporated December 10, 1803. Greene County’s courthouse, constructed around 1848, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other historic monuments include the Iron House, a massive 2,000-pound structure and the “Gaol”, a Bastille-like jail that is one of the oldest penal structures in Georgia.