Winnsboro, SC

Winnsboro is the Fairfield County seat in the South Carolina Midlands, about 30 miles north of Columbia. The 2020 census counted 3,215 residents. The town was laid out and chartered in 1785 on land associated with Richard Winn, and its name keeps that family connection. Its county-seat center includes the Fairfield County Courthouse, older homes, and the Town Clock, whose machinery has run for more than a century. The Town Clock began as a market-house project, with stone and metal pieces hauled from Charleston by wagon; today its lower floors still sit in the middle of Washington Street.

The clock gives the center a face people can use when giving directions. Winnsboro's older core also includes Federal and Greek Revival buildings, while US 321 Business carries traffic through the town toward Columbia and Charlotte. Winnsboro is a Midlands county seat with a clock at its heart, a Revolutionary-era name, and a lot of Fairfield County history in a compact center.