Engineer Rufus Timms (l) and Tour Guide Rodger Stroup

“Welcome to the Rockton, Rion and Western Railroad,” shouted Conductor Phil Woodell, “Today’s trip will take us six and a half miles, past the Mack Truck plant, the Ruff Farm, the Rion Quarry, and through the cut to Scott Crossing.”

The Congaree Land Trust and the SC Archives and History Foundation were celebrating the 225th anniversary of the Revolutionary War and the history and beautiful landscapes of Fairfield County. It began at the SC Railroad Museum just south of Winnsboro at Rockton, where 300 people in two shifts boarded the two–car passenger train. During the 30–minute ride Rodger Stroup and John Elkin described the sites along the way.

After the ride, the passengers detrained at the Greenbrier farm (c. 1905) of Toddie and Chandler McNair. Porter Kinard and Walker Clarke cooked up delicious barbecue and beans. John Hofmann’s Acoustica provided downhome music while adults toured two barns and a commissary and children took a hayride.

The celebration concluded at Fairfield, the pre–Revolutionary War manor that has been restored by Crosby and Cleo Lewis. Folks enjoyed tours of the house, garden, and grounds of the plantation where Eli Whitney got the idea for the cotton gin during a visit to the then Kincaid plantation.

Phil Woodell announces the train is ready to board. Lectures on the history of Fairfield County were given by James Lyles, Jack Meyer, and Terry Vickers. Refreshments were served on the Terrace.

Chef Porter Kinard cooks up some fine barbecue.