Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the capital and second largest city of the U. S. state of South Carolina, with a population estimate of 134,309 as of 2016. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County, it is the center of the Columbia metropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 767,598 as of the 2010 United States Census, growing to 817,488 by July 1, 2016, according to 2015 U. S. Census estimates; the name Columbia is a poetic term used for the United States, originating from the name of Christopher Columbus. The city is located 13 miles northwest of the geographic center of South Carolina, is the primary city of the Midlands region of the state, it lies at the confluence of the Saluda River and the Broad River, which merge at Columbia to form the Congaree River. Columbia is home to the University of South Carolina, the state's flagship university and the largest in the state, is the site of Fort Jackson, the largest United States Army installation for Basic Combat Training.
Columbia is located 20 miles west of the site of McEntire Joint National Guard Base, operated by the U. S. Air Force and is used as a training base for the 169th Fighter Wing of The South Carolina Air National Guard. Columbia is the location of the South Carolina State House, the center of government for the state. In 1860, the city was the location of the South Carolina Secession Convention, which marked the departure of the first state from the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War. At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Columbia were a people called the Congaree. In May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while moving northward; the expedition produced the earliest written historical records of the area, part of the regional Cofitachequi chiefdom. From the creation of Columbia by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1786, the site of Columbia was important to the overall development of the state; the Congarees, a frontier fort on the west bank of the Congaree River, was the head of navigation in the Santee River system.
A ferry was established by the colonial government in 1754 to connect the fort with the growing settlements on the higher ground on the east bank. Like many other significant early settlements in colonial America, Columbia is on the fall line from the Piedmont region; the fall line is the spot where a river becomes unnavigable when sailing upstream and where water flowing downstream can power a mill. State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill, approved by the legislature on March 22, 1786, to create a new state capital. There was considerable argument over the name for the new city. According to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that "in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA", for, the name which he wished it to be called. One legislator insisted on the name "Washington", but "Columbia" won by a vote of 11–7 in the state senate; the site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786, due to its central location in the state.
The State Legislature first met there in 1790. After remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and as a city in 1854. Columbia received a large stimulus to development when it was connected in a direct water route to Charleston by the Santee Canal; this canal connected the Cooper rivers in a 22-mile-long section. It was first chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, making it one of the earliest canals in the United States. With increased railroad traffic, it ceased operation around 1850; the commissioners designed a town of 400 blocks in a 2-mile square along the river. The blocks were sold to speculators and prospective residents. Buyers had to build a house at least 30 feet long and 18 feet wide within three years or face an annual 5% penalty; the perimeter streets and two through streets were 150 feet wide. The remaining squares were divided by thoroughfares 100 feet wide; the commissioners comprised the local government until 1797 when a Commission of Streets and Markets was created by the General Assembly.
Three main issues occupied most of their time: public drunkenness and poor sanitation. As one of the first planned cities in the United States, Columbia began to grow rapidly, its population was nearing 1,000 shortly after the start of the 19th century. In 1801, South Carolina College was founded in Columbia; the original building survives. The city was chosen as the site of the institution in part to unite the citizens of the Upcountry and the Lowcountry and to discourage the youth from migrating to England for their higher education. At the time, South Carolina sent more young men to England; the leaders of South Carolina wished to monitor the development of the school. Columbia received its first charter as a town in 1805. An intendant and six wardens would govern the town. John Taylor, the first elected intendant served in both houses of the General Assembly, both houses of Congress, as governor. By 1816, there were a population of more than one thousand. Columbia became chartered with an elected mayor and six aldermen.
Two years Columbia had a police force consisting of a full-time chief and nine patrolmen. The city continued to grow at a rapid
Winnsboro, South Carolina
Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,550 at the 2010 census, it is the county seat of Fairfield County. Winnsboro is part of South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. Based on archeological evidence, this area of the Piedmonth 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 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", his brothers John and Minor Winn joined adding to family founders. The village was laid out and chartered in 1785 upon petition of Richard and John Winn, John Vanderhorst; the brothers Richard and Minor Winn all served in the Revolutionary War.
Richard became a general, was said to have fought in more battles than any 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. It was considered too labor-intensive. Short-staple cotton was cultivated on plantations in upland areas throughout the Deep South, through an interior area that became known as the Black Belt; the increased demand for 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 Civil War, the county's population was majority black and majority slave. Textile mills were constructed in the area beginning in the late 19th century, 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, reflecting the widespread expansion of the auto industry. The song has been sung by Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, 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. 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, Blair Mound, Dr. Walter Brice House and Office, Concord Presbyterian Church, Furman Institution Faculty Residence, 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 and Rion Railroad Historic District, Rural Point, Shivar Springs Bottling Company Cisterns, The Oaks, White Oak Historic District, the Winnsboro Historic District.
In the late 19th century, after white Democrats regained control of state legislatures in the South, they passed Jim Crow laws establishing racial segregation of public facilities and disenfranchising blacks, excluding them from the political system. In 1960 in the United States Supreme Court decision of Boynton v. Virginia, the court ruled that racial segregation was unconstitutional in interstate bus stations, bathrooms and on buses, as these were covered by constitutional protections of free interstate commerce; the Civil Rights Movement had begun to use public demonstrations and events to build public awareness. In 1961, CORE decided to test the bus ruling by sending mixed racial groups of Freedom Riders to ride interstate buses and use facilities in the segregated southern United States to challenge practices related to segregation of buses and bus stations, they intended to end at New Orleans. They were met by increasing violence. Winnsboro was one of the cities where some Freedom Riders were beaten by local whites and arrested by local officials.
One was rescued by a local African-American man while outrunning a white mob. Winnsboro is located east of the center of Fairfield County at 34°22′37″N 81°5′17″W. U. S. Route 321 and South Carolina Highway 34 bypass the town on the west side. US 321 Business passes through the center of town on Congress Street. US 321 leads south 28 miles to Columbia. SC 34 leads west 36 miles to Newberry. SC 200 leads northeast 19 miles to Great Falls; the unincorporated community of Winnsboro Mills borders the south side of Winnsboro. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town of Winnsboro has a total area of 3.2 square miles, all land. As of the census of 2000, there were 3,564 people, 1,454 households, 984 families residing in the town; the population density was 1,109.6 people per square mile. There were 1,597 housing units at an average density of 492.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 40.29% White, 58.46% African American, 0.31% Asian, 0.33% from other races, 0.61% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population. There were 1,454 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% were married couples living together, 25.4% had a female householder with no
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Southeastern United States and the easternmost of the Deep South. It is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southwest by Georgia across the Savannah River. South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution on May 23, 1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote in favor of secession from the Union on December 20, 1860. After the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25, 1868. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and 23rd most populous U. S. state. Its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.13%. South Carolina is composed of 46 counties; the capital is Columbia with a 2017 population of 133,114. The Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metropolitan area is the largest in the state, with a 2017 population estimate of 895,923. South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, who first formed the English colony, with Carolus being Latin for "Charles".
South Carolina is known for its 187 miles of coastline, beautiful lush gardens, historic sites and Southern plantations, colonial and European cultures, its growing economic development. The state can be divided into three geographic areas. From east to west: the Atlantic coastal plain, the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge Mountains. Locally, the coastal plain is referred to the other two regions as Upstate; the Atlantic Coastal Plain makes up two-thirds of the state. Its eastern border is a chain of tidal and barrier islands; the border between the low country and the up country is defined by the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, which marks the limit of navigable rivers. The state's coastline contains many salt marshes and estuaries, as well as natural ports such as Georgetown and Charleston. An unusual feature of the coastal plain is a large number of Carolina bays, the origins of which are uncertain; the bays tend to be oval. The terrain is flat and the soil is composed of recent sediments such as sand and clay.
Areas with better drainage make excellent farmland. The natural areas of the coastal plain are part of the Middle Atlantic coastal forests ecoregion. Just west of the coastal plain is the Sandhills region; the Sandhills are remnants of coastal dunes from a time when the land was sunken or the oceans were higher. The Upstate region contains the roots of an eroded mountain chain, it is hilly, with thin, stony clay soils, contains few areas suitable for farming. Much of the Piedmont was once farmed. Due to the changing economics of farming, much of the land is now reforested in Loblolly pine for the lumber industry; these forests are part of the Southeastern mixed forests ecoregion. At the southeastern edge of the Piedmont is the fall line, where rivers drop to the coastal plain; the fall line was an important early source of water power. Mills built to harness this resource encouraged the growth of several cities, including the capital, Columbia; the larger rivers are navigable up to the fall line. The northwestern part of the Piedmont is known as the Foothills.
The Cherokee Parkway is a scenic driving route through this area. This is. Highest in elevation is the Blue Ridge Region, containing an escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which continue into North Carolina and Georgia, as part of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Sassafras Mountain, South Carolina's highest point at 3,560 feet, is in this area. In this area is Caesars Head State Park; the environment here is that of the Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests ecoregion. The Chattooga River, on the border between South Carolina and Georgia, is a favorite whitewater rafting destination. South Carolina has several major lakes covering over 683 square miles. All major lakes in South Carolina are man-made; the following are the lakes listed by size. Lake Marion 110,000 acres Lake Strom Thurmond 71,100 acres Lake Moultrie 60,000 acres Lake Hartwell 56,000 acres Lake Murray 50,000 acres Russell Lake 26,650 acres Lake Keowee 18,372 acres Lake Wylie 13,400 acres Lake Wateree 13,250 acres Lake Greenwood 11,400 acres Lake Jocassee 7,500 acres Lake Bowen Earthquakes in South Carolina demonstrate the greatest frequency along the central coastline of the state, in the Charleston area.
South Carolina averages 10–15 earthquakes a year below magnitude 3. The Charleston Earthquake of 1886 was the largest quake to hit the Southeastern United States; this 7.2 magnitude earthquake destroyed much of the city. Faults in this region are difficult to study at the surface due to thick sedimentation on top of them. Many of the ancient faults are within plates rather than along plate boundaries. South Carolina has a humid subtropical climate, although high-elevation areas in the Upstate area have fewer subtropical characteristics than areas on the Atlantic coastline. In the summer, South Carolina is hot and humid, with daytime temperatures averaging between 86–93 °F in most of the state and overnight lows averaging 70–75 °F on the coast and from 66–73 °F inland. Winter temperatures are much less uniform in South Carolina. Coastal areas of the state have mild winters, with high temperatures approaching an average of 60 °F and overnight lows around 40 °F. Inland, the average January overnight low is around 32 °F i
Little Mountain, South Carolina
Little Mountain is a town in Newberry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 292 according to the https://www.census.gov/popestat the 2013 census. The town took its name from nearby Little Mountain. Little Mountain is located at 34°11′43″N 81°24′50″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles, all land. Little Mountain is located on Interstate 26 at Exit 85, 2 miles from the heart of downtown. According to the United State Census Bureau https://www.census.gov/popest in 2013 population in town was estimated to be 292 people and 142 households. The medium household income in the town is $56,250 with 2.9% of residents living below the poverty line. This compares to the South Carolina average medium household income of $44,779. Education of town residents is 93.8% with at least a high school degree compared to South Carolina's average of 84.5%. The Town of Little Mountain has a mayor council form of government. On March 15, 2013, Jana Jayroe was sworn-in as the mayor.
Jayroe has been a resident of the town for twenty years and served as mayor pro tem and as a member of town council. Jana Jayroe's term as mayor of Little Mountain expires December 31, 2020; the members of council as of January 2018 are Charles Shealy, Melvin Bowers, D. H. Jefcoat and Marty Frick; the mountain is a monadnock, an isolated mountain or rock that has resisted the process of erosion and stands alone in an otherwise flat area. The Little Mountain Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003; the mountain was referred to as Ruff's Mountain until sometime in the 1800s. It was part of Lexington County until 1917. Property in this area was not recorded in the Newberry County tax records until some time in the 1920s; the Eastern side of the mountain was once owned by Sam Birge, Arthur Kohn. It would change hands between the two several times before coming into the possession of the Derrick family in the 1930s; the other side, including what became the town of Little Mountain, was owned by Abraham N. Boland.
Frederick H. Dominick was appointed as postmaster in May 1852. Abraham Noah Boland was appointed as postmaster of the Little Mountain Post Office in 1888; the town was founded around a railroad station in 1890: Boland's farm became the site of the depot when the C. N. & L Railroad began operation. The town was incorporated and Boland became the first mayor of the town. Today, Boland is considered the "Father of Little Mountain." Early residents were farmers of corn and grain. The town has become a bedroom community for the state capital, 30 miles to the southeast. In 1892, a school was opened in a tenant house and taught by the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Rev. S. L. Nease. A one-room school building was built on an acre of land donated by Noah Boland. Increased enrollment brought a two-room building and in 1908 the plans were made to build the present Little Mountain Elementary School. Several additions and modifications have been made to the building since the original construction.
Every year, the town of Little Mountain hosts the "Little Mountain Town Reunion" during the month of August. The Little Mountain Reunion is one of South Carolina’s oldest folk festivals, it began in 1882, as an effort by a person connected to Newberry College for encouraging local class reunions, the hope being that it would generate interest in the new college. The college experienced a number of set-backs since its organization; because most people traveled either on two or four feet due to the lack of trains and automobiles, meeting places were selected on the convenience of their location The Newberry Observer documents that in 1882 this group met first at Corinth Lutheran Church across the Saluda River. It was in the next year, or the following year, that the officials decided to try the site at Little Mountain; the event was so successful that it was decided by those present that each year a Newberry College Reunion would be held at the foot of Little Mountain. The took place on property purchased by A. N. Boland from Frederick Henry Dominick.
He was quite agreeable to this plan and for many years prepared and sold barbecue and hash, ice-cream to those who attended. For those who wished to bring along their own picnic, tables were erected between trees; every year, people came riding in on horseback or in buggies, carts, etc. In 1890 when the first train came through Little Mountain, old-timers recall how more coaches were added at reunion time to bring people from Irmo, White Rock, Chapin, Goldville, Prosperity and Slighs A typical Little Mountain Reunion afforded not only a time to renew friendships made at school but the time to catch up on political thinking and the state of politics in the Dutch Fork. A welcoming address by the president of Newberry College made everyone feel at home and gave a pretty good idea of the state of the college; these reunions became a traditional part of the community, situated in the heart of the Dutch Fork area, were eagerly anticipated by everybody in the area. The simple pleasures afforded here along with the community spirit helped maintain the reunion until the eve of World War II.
In 1976, the Town of Little Mountain and the Ruritan Club decided to renew the reunion as a bicentennial project. The idea generated a great deal of enthusiasm in the town; the festival was
Sumter County, South Carolina
Sumter County is a county located in the U. S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 107,456, its county seat is Sumter. The county was created in 1800. Sumter County comprises South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area, it is the home of Shaw AFB, headquarters to the 9th Air Force, AFCENT, United States Army Central, with a number of other tenant units. It is one of largest bases in the USAF's Air Combat Command. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 682 square miles, of which 665 square miles is land and 17 square miles is water, it is drained by its tributaries. Its western border is formed by the Wateree River. One of South Carolina's most famous areas are the High Hills of Santee comprising the western part of the county; the county is one of five that borders Lake Marion known as South Carolina's "Inland Sea." Lee County - north Florence County - northeast Clarendon County - south Calhoun County - southwest Richland County - west Kershaw County - northwest I-95 US 15 US 15 Conn.
US 76 US 76 Bus. US 378 US 378 Bus. US 401 US 521 US 521 Conn. SC 35 SC 37 SC 40 As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 107,456 people, 40,398 households, 28,311 families residing in the county; the population density was 161.6 inhabitants per square mile. There were 46,011 housing units at an average density of 69.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 48.2% white, 46.9% black or African American, 1.1% Asian, 0.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.4% from other races, 1.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 7.2% were Subsaharan African, 6.9% were American, 6.1% were English, 5.9% were German, 5.7% were Irish. Of the 40,398 households, 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.9% were non-families, 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.11.
The median age was 35.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,137 and the median income for a family was $45,460. Males had a median income of $36,101 versus $28,421 for females; the per capita income for the county was $18,944. About 15.5% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over. Sumter Mayesville Pinewood Horatio Wedgefield Ray Allen, professional NBA basketball player is from Dalzell. Angelica Singleton Van Buren, U. S. president's daughter-in-law and from Wedgefield. Sloman Moody, born in Horatio. Bill Pinkney of The Drifters was born in Dalzell. Ja Morant, NCAA basketball player for Murray State University, born in Dalzell and attended high school in Sumter. University of South Carolina Sumter National Register of Historic Places listings in Sumter County, South Carolina Sumter County official website Central Carolina Technical College Sumter County SC Community Sumter Economic Development
Eastover, South Carolina
Eastover is a town in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 813 at the 2010 census, down from 830 in 2000, it is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The J. A. Byrd Mercantile Store and Merchants Bank Building, Good Hope Baptist Church, Goodwill Plantation, Kensington Plantation House, St. Phillip School, Saint Thomas' Protestant Episcopal Church, Claudius Scott Cottage, Siloam School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Eastover is located at 33°52′39″N 80°41′41″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles, all land. At the 2000 census, there were 830 people, 307 households and 228 families residing in the town; the population density was 670.8 per square mile. There were 357 housing units at an average density of 288.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 92.26% African American, 6.87% White, 0.41% Asian, 0.12% from other races, 0.48% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.24% of the population. There were 307 households of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.4% were married couples living together, 43.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 25.7% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.07. 32.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.0 males. The median household income was $20,114 and the median family income was $19,844. Males had a median income of $23,250 versus $17,875 for females; the per capita income for the town was $9,304. About 36.9% of families and 37.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.1% of those under age 18 and 30.0% of those age 65 or over.
Richland County School District One operates area public schools. Webber Elementary School is in Eastover. Eastover is zoned to Webber Elementary, Southeast Middle School, Lower Richland High School. Eastover is the site of McEntire Joint National Guard Base and the headquarters for the South Carolina Air National Guard. South Carolina Electric & Gas Company's Wateree Station 700 megawatt coal power plant is located here. South Carolina's only national park, the Congaree National Park, is twelve miles southwest of Eastover. Eastover is the closest municipality to the park. Lewis C. Dowdy Sarah Mae Flemming Annie B. Martin Jacob Stroyer Eastover is in South Carolina's 6th congressional district. Town of Eastover official website South Carolina Air National Guard
Fairfield County, South Carolina
Fairfield County is a county located in the U. S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 census, its population was 23,956, its county seat is Winnsboro. Fairfield County is part of SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, it is alleged that the county name originated from a statement made by General Cornwallis when he declared "How Fair These Fields" during the British occupation of the area in 1780-81. The house Cornwallis stayed in during the occupation is still standing. Several years before the Revolution, Richard Winn from Virginia moved to what is now called Fairfield County, his lands covered the present site of Winnsboro, as early as 1777 the settlement was known as "Winnsborough". The village was laid out and chartered in 1785 upon petition of Richard Winn, John Winn and John Vanderhorst. John and Minor Winn all served in the Revolutionary War. Richard was a General and he is said to have fought in more battles than any Whig in South Carolina. Fairfield County has numerous churches; the most famous church, built in 1788, is the Old Brick Church, where the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Synod of the Carolinas was organized in 1803.
A note penciled on the wall of the Old Brick Church is testimony to a Union soldier's regret at the church's floor boards being taken up to build a crossing over the nearby river for General Sherman's troops during the American Civil War. The early settlers in the mid-18th century brought cotton to the county, it was soon supported as a commodity crop by the labor of enslaved African Americans. Invention of the cotton gin enabled the cultivation of short-staple cotton through the upcountry regions of the South, it was the chief commodity crop for this county from the early 19th century through the 1920s. In the antebellum era, most of the intensive labor was accomplished by African-American slaves, many of whose descendants still live in this rural area. After the Civil War, many African Americans worked as sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Over time the soil became depleted, but more damaging was infestation in the 20th century by the boll weevil. Together with mechanization of agriculture, the need for labor was reduced.
In the first half of the 20th century through the 1940s, millions of African Americans left the rural South in the Great Migration to northern and midwestern cities for other job opportunities and the chance to escape Jim Crow restrictions. In December 1832 Winnsboro was incorporated as a town to be governed by wardens; the most prominent architectural feature of Fairfield County is the Town Clock in Winnsboro. South Carolina's General Assembly authorized Winnsboro's town fathers to build a market house that "shall not be of greater width than 30 feet" to allow 30 feet of wagon travel on either side; the narrow building was modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia and built on the site of a duck pond. A clock was added in 1837, the building has since been known as the Town Clock; the County Courthouse, across from the Town Clock, dates back to 1823. Designed by South Carolina architect Robert Mills, the courthouse houses records dating to the mid-18th century. Granite deposits in the County led to the early development of quarrying.
Winnsboro blue granite, "The Silk of the Trade," is used worldwide in monuments. The county was home to the Carolinas–Virginia Tube Reactor during the 1960s. In 1984 the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station was built here; the county owns the Fairfield County Airport, in operation since 1975. The Ridgeway gold mine, east of Ridgeway, was in operation from 1988 to 1999. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 710 square miles, of which 686 square miles is land and 24 square miles is water; as of the census of 2000, there were 23,454 people, 8,774 households, 6,387 families residing in the county. The population density was 34 people per square mile. There were 10,383 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 59.09% Black or African American, 39.58% White, 0.19% Asian, 0.15% Native American, 0.44% from other races, 0.55% from two or more races. 1.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,774 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.90% were married couples living together, 20.00% had a female householder with no husband present, 27.20% were non-families.
24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.12. In the county, the population was spread out with 26.10% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,376, the median income for a family was $35,943. Males had a median income of $29,033 versus $21,197 for females; the per capita income for the county was $14,911. About 17.20% of families and 19.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.70% of those under age 18 and 24.10% of those age 65 or over. As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 23,956 people, 9,419 households, 6,578 families residing in the county.
The population density was 34.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 11,681 housing units at an average density of 17.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 59.1% black or African American, 38.6% white, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indi
