Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina...Its population was 3,599 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Fairfield County and part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Often referred to as the “Charleston of the Upcountry,” Winnsboro, located in the upper Piedmont region of South Carolina, was named in honor of the Winn family, whose members fought in the Revolutionary War, and abounds with historic and architecturally interesting homes and buildings. Winnsboro’s entire central core is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sites to see in Winnsboro include the Greek Revival Fairfield County Courthouse, designed by South Carolina’s Robert Mills; the Town Clock, modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia, is believed to be the longest continuously running town clock in America to colonial buildings; and the Fairfield County Museum, which houses collections spanning the area’s pre-history through to the early twentieth century.

Several years before the Revolution, Richard Winn from Virginia moved to what is now called Fairfield County. His lands covered the present site of Winnsboro, and as early as 1777 the settlement was known as "Winnsborough".

The village was laid out and chartered in 1785 upon petition of Richard Winn, John Winn and John Vanderhorst. John, Richard, and Minor Winn all served in the Revolutionary War. Richard was a General who was said to have fought in more battles than any Whig in South Carolina. Brother John earned the rank of Colonel in the Continental Army.

In 1780 Lord Cornwallis spent a hard winter here after the defeat of the British and Loyalists at Kings Mountain. At that time, the village of Winnsborough had about 20 dwellings. By the time Eli Whitney’s cotton gin was patented in 1794, Fairfield County was well on the way to becoming one of the biggest producers of upland cotton in the state. In 1830 Richard Cathcart built an imposing townhouse (pictured right) in Winnsboro to enjoy the amenities of the bustling town life away from his country cotton plantation.

An early cultural impetus for the growth of Winnsboro was the founding of the Mt. Zion Society in Charleston in 1777. Several well-known Charlestonians joined with Winnsboro's founding fathers to set up a preparatory school in this healthy upland environment. The establishment allowed not only the sons of wealthy low-country families to prepare for furthering their educations at the College of South Carolina, Harvard and other early universities, but also for the schooling of the "up-country" children. By the early 1800s, Mt. Zion College had attracted the sons of many notable South Carolinians who would become leaders across many fields in our young nation and state.

The traditional blues song, Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues was written about working in a cotton mill in Winnsboro; the song has been sung by Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, and other artists and was reworked by modernist composer/pianist Frederic Rzewski.

Winnsboro, South Carolina, boasts of many famous past and present residents including: Baltimore Ravens running back and former John Bratton, Confederate general during the American Civil War, Walter B. Brown, a former Vice-President of Southern Railway (now Norfolk Southern) and a political legend in South Carolina legislative government, Fr. William Porcher DuBose, Episcopalian theologian and educator and a Civil War Veteran; former SC governor John Hugh Means, Alex Sanders, former Court of Appeals Judge, Lt. Governor Candidate, College of Charleston President, and U.S. Senate Candidate; Miriam Stevenson 1954 Miss USA and Miss Universe winner, (the first to hold both titles), NFL Rookie of the Year Mike Anderson; NFLer Orlando Ruff of the New Orleans Saints and Tyler Thigpen, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.

For more information on activities in and around Winnsboro, South Carolina, visit: