Fairfield

Fairfield County is part of the Old English District of South Carolina.

Fairfield County is part of the Old English District of South Carolina. Although the reason behind the county’s name remains uncertain, it seems to have come from Lord Cornwallis. While headquartered in the area during the Revolutionary War, Lord Cornwallis supposedly said that the region had “fair fields.” Cornwallis was not the only important war figure to have left his mark in Fairfield County. General Sherman invaded Winnsboro during the Civil War.

Historically, the county’s economy depended on the production of cotton and a special type of granite known as Winnsboro Blue Granite. Today the county remains rural with an estimated 2015 population of about 26,000 people. Fairfield County was founded within the Camden District in 1785, and Winnsboro serves as its county seat.

Welcome to Fairfield County, South Carolina. Accessed June 03, 2016. http://www.fairfieldsc.com/

Sergeant Isaac Woodard Jr. Activity Sheets | SC African American History Calendar (2022)

Document

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

Activity Sheets include: Use the photo of the marker and the bio to compare five facts about Sergeant Isaac Woodard Jr. Use the ad for the Isaac Woodard Benefit Show from 1946 to answer the questions...

Dorothy Wilson | Blythewood History

Episode 1

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

Dorothy Wilson talks about her grandfather, William Griffin. The history of William Griffin goes back to 1886. The Griffin family were sharecroppers and farmers. Her grandfather purchased 80 acres of...

Frances Davis | Blythewood History

Episode 3

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

Francine Davis' family moved to Blythewood in 1940 so she can attend the only black high school available in District 2. There were several church-based schools for black children to attend, but...

Ruby Brice | Blythewood History

Episode 4

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

Explore the African American community through the experiences of Blythewood resident, Ruby Brice. Brice's paternal family lived in Blythewood since the late 1800s. In the early 1900s, her maternal...

Constelena Kelly | Blythewood History

Episode 2

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

Constelena Kelly's great-great grandfather, a Caucasian man, was married to a Cherokee Native American who lived on the reservation. A time came when she was not allowed to live anywhere but on the...

Naomi and Matty | Blythewood History

Episode 5

Video

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

Naomi and Matty share memories of their father and growing up in Blythewood. Their father was a farmer and activist, encouraging people in the community to register to vote. This was during the time...

Gordon Light Infantry Of Fairfield County | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Gordon Light Infantry of Fairfield County, around 1900. Courtesy of the Fairfield County Museum.

Boxing | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 13

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

This boxing match was one of many events that made the new Community Building built by the Mill a center for leisure-time activities of the Winnsboro Mill operatives and their families around 1929...

Aerial View Of Winnsboro, 1950 | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

An aerial view of Winnsboro around 1950, before the Confederate monument in front of the clock tower was moved because it caused traffic accidents. The clock, assembled in 1833, is thought to be the...

Fairfield County Courthouse | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Fairfield County Courthouse, built in 1823 from a design by Robert Mills, still stands, and was recently restored. Fairfield became a county in 1785. Courtesy of the Fairfield County Museum.

Main Street Of Winnsboro | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Main Street, Winnsboro, around the turn of the century. Winnsboro, the county seat of Fairfield County, was settled in 1755, incorporated in 1785, and named to honor one of its founders, Revolutionary...

Store In Winnsboro Mill Village | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Most mill villages featured a company store where mill operatives could buy the necessities of life without leaving the town. The interior of this store in the Winnsboro Mill Village in Fairfield...

Mack Truck Plant In Fairfield County | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

A truck coming off of the new assembly line at the Mack Truck plant in Fairfield County. Photo by Doug Gilmore, August 1,1988. Courtesy of "The State" newspaper.

Granite Quarry In Fairfield County | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

A granite quarry in operation in Fairfield County, near Winnsboro, in the 1930s. From the files of the Works Progress Administration. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

V.C. Summer Nuclear Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

V.C. Summer Nuclear Plant, Fairfield County, showing the giant steam turbine at the nuclear station. Photo by Tim Dominick, November 1984. Courtesy of "The State" newspaper.

Summer Nuclear Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Aerial view of the Summer Nuclear Plant, located near Columbia and operated by SCE&G. It was completed in 1984 as an alternative to water or coal generated production to meet growing demands for...

Winnsboro Mills Research Laboratory | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 14

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Winnsboro Mills maintained a research laboratory as well as a production plant at their Fairfield County headquarters. This laboratory was set up around 1930, and photographed by William F. Cone...

Raw Cotton Is Carded In Sliver | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Raw cotton is carded in sliver, a thick rope of cotton fibers, in the #2 plant of the Winnsboro Mills, around 1930. Courtesy of Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Manufacturing.

Unloading Raw Cotton At Winnsboro Mills | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Unloading raw cotton from the train at the Winnsboro Mills, around 1929. Courtesy of Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Manufacturing.

The Fairfield Cotton Mill | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The Fairfield Cotton Mill, built in 1898, expanded its operation with the construction of this new building in 1918. The original owners sold the plant to Hampton Cotton Mills of Greenville in 1912...

Houses Constructed by the Winnsboro Mill | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

These houses were constructed by the Winnsboro Mill, now a part of the Uniroyal facility in Fairfield County, around 1929. The mill owners provided housing as a way to attract workers or operatives to...

Means, John Hugh | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

“M” is for Means, John Hugh [1812-1862]. Governor. After graduating from South Carolina College, Means became a successful planter in Fairfield District. After one term in the General Assembly, he...

Winnsboro | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

Grades: 6 7 8

“W” is Winnsboro [Fairfield County, population 3,599]. Winnsboro, the seat of Fairfield County, lies in the Piedmont on a ridge between the Broad and Wateree Rivers. In 1768 John Winn began acquiring...

The Pilgrim Holiness Church in Winnsboro Mills | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Mill owners encouraged the building of churches (and thus habits of sobriety and industry among their workers) by donating lands within the mill village on which churches could be constructed. The...

Fairfield

Related Series