Winnsboro, South Carolina

==History==
Based on archeological evidence, this area of the Piedmont was occupied by various cultures of [[indigenous peoples]] from as early as the [[Archaic period in North America|Archaic period]], 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.<ref name = nrhpinv>{{Cite web | author = Robert L. Stevenson and George Teague| title = Blair Mound | work = National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory | date = April 1974| url = http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/fairfield/S10817720003/S10817720003.pdf | access-date = 5 July 2012}}</ref>
 
Several years before the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], Richard Winn from [[Virginia]] moved to what is now Fairfield County in the upland or [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] area of South Carolina. His lands included the present site of Winnsboro. As early as 1777, the settlement was known as "Winnsborough" since he was the major landowner. His brothers John and Minor Winn joined him there, adding to family founders.

The village was laid out and chartered in 1785 upon petition of Richard and John Winn, and John Vanderhorst. The brothers Richard, John and Minor Winn all served in the Revolutionary War. Richard became a general, and was said to have fought in more battles than any [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Whig]] in South Carolina. John gained the rank of colonel. See [[Fairfield County, South Carolina]], for more.

The area was developed for the cultivation of [[short-staple cotton]] after [[Eli Whitney]]'s invention of the [[cotton gin]] in 1793, which made processing of this type of cotton profitable. Previously it was considered too labor-intensive. Short-staple cotton was widely cultivated on plantations in upland areas throughout the [[Deep South]], through an interior area that became known as the [[Black Belt (geological formation)|Black Belt]]. The increased demand for [[slavery in the United States|slave labor]] resulted in the forced migration of more than one million African-American slaves into the area through sales in the domestic slave market. By the time of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the county's population was majority black and majority slave.

[[Textile mill]]s were constructed in the area beginning in the late 19th century, and originally only whites were allowed to work in the mills. "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues", an industrial folk song of the 1930s with lyrics typical of the [[blues]], refers to working in a cotton mill in this city. The song arose after the textile mill had been converted to a tire manufacturing plant,<ref name="woodard"/> reflecting the widespread expansion of the auto industry. The song has been sung by [[Lead Belly]], [[Pete Seeger]], and other artists. It was the basis of one of the ballads by modernist composer/pianist [[Frederic Rzewski]] in his ''Four North American Ballads'' for solo piano, completed in 1979.<ref name="woodard">[https://www.academia.edu/3448527/The_Pianists_Body_at_Work_Mediating_Sound_and_Meaning_in_Frederic_Rzewskis_Winnsboro_Cotton_Mill_Blues  Kathryn Woodard, "The Pianist's Body at Work: Mediating Sound and Meaning in Frederic Rzewski's Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues"], ''Sonic Meditations,'' 2008, at Academia website, accessed 13 November 2014</ref>

Places listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] for Winnsboro range from an Archaic period archeological site, to structures and districts spanning the European-American/African-American history of the city, as in the following list: [[Albion (Winnsboro, South Carolina)|Albion]], [[Balwearie]], [[Blair Mound]], [[Dr. Walter Brice House and Office]], [[Concord Presbyterian Church (South Carolina)|Concord Presbyterian Church]], [[Furman Institution Faculty Residence]], [[Hunstanton (Winnsboro, South Carolina)|Hunstanton]], [[Ketchin Building]], [[Bob Lemmon House]], [[Liberty Universalist Church and Feasterville Academy Historic District]], [[McMeekin Rock Shelter]], [[Mount Olivet Presbyterian Church]], [[New Hope A.R.P. Church and Session House]], [[Old Stone House (Winnsboro, South Carolina)|Old Stone House]], [[Rockton and Rion Railroad Historic District]], [[Rural Point]], [[Shivar Springs Bottling Company Cisterns]], [[The Oaks (Winnsboro, South Carolina)|The Oaks]], [[Tocaland]], [[White Oak Historic District]], and the [[Winnsboro Historic District]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> Though not listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Winnsboro Town Clock built in 1837 is the oldest continuously running clock in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scpictureproject.org/fairfield-county/winnsboro-town-clock.htm |title= Winnsboro Town Clock |publisher= SC Picture Project | date= September 4, 2020}}</ref>