Winnsboro dates to 1785, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #23 of 169 in South Carolina. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 33 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Winnsboro’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winnsboro is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #23 of 169 in South Carolina. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winnsboro’s overall grade.
South Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical South Carolina town has 3.2 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Winnsboro’s 123 sits above most of its state (86% of South Carolina towns have fewer) while its 41 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1785.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points).
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Winnsboro’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1884Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
On the National Register
7 listings protect 41 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Based on archeological evidence, this area of the Piedmont was occupied by various cultures of indigenous peoples from as early as the 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.
Several years before the Revolutionary War, Richard Winn from Virginia moved to what is now Fairfield County in the upland or 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.
Passages that mention Winnsboro, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Fairfield county, South Carolina1902Read the page →
Read the text
David R. Evans was the first lawyer in Winnsboro. He came to Winnsboro in 1784, He said that there were only three or four houses in the settlement; one, General Winn's , near where George KcMaster's house now stands, the other a log college on Uount Zion Hill, Baker's Tavern, and perhaps one or two others. He was then fourteen years of age. His father came to t his country from England, probably one or two years before they moved to this place. They lived in a house behind the one James R.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Winnsboro, 1785 to 1933
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1785, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Winnsboro’s post office opened in 1794, and the census of 1860 counted 355 people here.
How does Winnsboro rank for history?
Winnsboro is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #23 of 169 in South Carolina. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Winnsboro?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Ketchin Building (listed 1970, the first), and 1 historic district, the Winnsboro Historic District, with 33 contributing buildings. 41 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Winnsboro?
10% of Winnsboro’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.5% for a South Carolina town; the median home was built in 1982.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
c. 1907
c. 1907
c. 1915
