Mount Greenwood received its name from George Waite, the recipient of a land grant in 1879. George planted trees on an elevated area, and named it Mount Greenwood.
The proliferation of saloons led a movement to turn the area into a dry area, however, a group of residents incorporated the area as a village preventing this. Shortly thereafter in 1927, the area was annexed as part of the City of Chicago which helped bring about better city services into the area.
There was a surge in population from 1930 to 1950, with the number of residents rising from 3,310 to 12,331.
Mount Greenwood was home to the last farm in Chicago, owned by Peter Ouwenga until the mid-1980s when he sold his farm to the Chicago Public School system.
