Photo courtesy of the collection of MR

A little more than 20 miles from Columbia lies the historic Fairfield County town of Winnsboro. The city and town are so close, in fact, that some take in stride a workweek commute, and hardly a Winnsboro townsperson lets the week go by without perusing the latest issue of The Columbia Star.

In Winnsboro, tree– lined streets, churches, and romantic homes spared by Sherman’s wrath can be found. Museums, antique shops, and art galleries, modern day lodging, eateries, and antebellum B & Bs add to the atmosphere.

Settled in the middle 1700s, Winnsboro was named for Patriot leader, Richard Winn. Cornwallis House, one of the buildings used by the British during their occupation of the town from October 1780 through January 1781, is said to have been the headquarters of Lord Cornwallis, himself. It is also said that during the occupation Cornwallis looked out over the countryside and exclaimed, “What fair fields!” Winnsboro became the seat of Fairfield County.

On the corner of Congress and Washington Streets, right in the middle of town, is the renowned Winnsboro Town Clock. In 1833, the town council authorized construction of a public market house and a few years later, the clock and belfry were added. The tolling of the bell was a signal of great import, announcing “Fire!”, “Danger!”, “Curfew,” or not least, “Butchering Day!” The townspeople knew that fresh meat was available. It is said that dogs from all parts and directions carved their paths to The Clock in response to the toll that said to them, “Meat Scraps!”

Nearby is the Fairfield County Courthouse, designed by Robert Mills in 1823. The “famous double winding staircase” was not added until the building underwent extensive renovation in 1939. The pride of this courthouse is that in the Clerk of Court’s office there are early county records from as long ago as 1730. During The War Between the States, Fairfield County Sheriff,  Elijah Oliver, saved the valuable records by putting them into bags which were then tied to the waists of his wife and daughters and hidden beneath their skirts and petticoats.

Another notable landmark is the Site of Mount Zion Institute, chartered as a school and operated by The Mount Zion Society in 1777. The school was closed during the British occupation but was reestablished as a college in 1785 “to instruct youth in the languages and liberal arts and sciences.”

West of Park Street lies The Fortune Springs Garden. The area was given by Captain John Buchanan to his slave Pompey Fortune. During the Revolutionary War, Pompey Fortune served General Lafayette as a body servant. When Lafayette returned to Columbia in 1825, Pompey Fortune rode into the city so that the two might meet again.

Winnsboro has over 50 historical points of interest.