Winnsboro, South Carolina
Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County in the Piedmont of South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,599 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Fairfield County. Winnsboro is part of the Columbia, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Based on archeological evidence, this area was occupied by various cultures of indigenous peoples from as early as the Archaic period in the Americas, about 1500 BC. Blair Mound is a nearby archeological site and earthwork likely occupied 1300-1400 AD, as part of the late Mississippian culture in the region.
Several years before the American Revolutionary War, Richard Winn from Virginia moved to what is now called Fairfield County in the upland or Piedmont area of South Carolina. His lands included the present site of Winnsboro, and as early as 1777 the settlement was known as "Winnsborough". Two of his brothers joined him there, adding to family founders.
The village was laid out and chartered in 1785 upon petition of Richard Winn, John Winn and John Vanderhorst. The brothers Richard, John and Minor Winn all served in the Revolutionary War. Richard was a general, said to have fought in more battles than any Whig in South Carolina. John was a colonel. See Fairfield County, South Carolina for more.
