AS TIME GOES BY
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A look at early Winnsboro - from Crossroads to Winn's Borough The area around the present Winnsboro was first settled in 1834 by William Rile McMillan and his stepfather, John Elliot Winn. They were from Rush County and searching for a new place to settle on the frontier. They had arrived by following the Gilmer and Greenville Road through the east end of what is now Wood County. They came to the crossing of Mt. Pleasant and the Belzora Crossing Road. Webster was a nearby community that had been settled in 1845, and Quitman, which became the county seat, was 16 miles to the southeast. The men were enchanted by the beauty of the locality they had encountered and they made camp at the crossroads. At the time they found it, this particular area was an undulating unbroken slope covered with a heavy growth of red oak, post oak and hickory with no undergrowth. They also found waist-high grass that abounded with deer and turkey. As they looked around and time passed, they realized that the intersection offered business potential. After careful inspection, they decided to purchase property and they were successful in acquiring 161 acres of land in the Gray B. King Survey from the William G. Logan estate. The crossroads was near the center to the tract of land they purchased. They built a home, opened a store, laid out business lots and named the new town "Crossroads." There was a heavy traffic of freight wagons from Jefferson plus a flow of immigrants due to the great western migration of the 1850s. Crossroads seemed to be the perfect location for business as the settlers and new shopkeepers found a living. A post office was established in March 1855. William R. McMillan wanted to honor his beloved stepfather, John E. Winn, so he decided to change the town's name from Crossroads to Winn's Borough. In 1878, the first newspaper, The Sentinel, opened. Because of the cost of type, it dropped four letters from the town's name and spelled it with one ‘n' - Winsboro. But the post office always retained the two ‘n's and dropped only the last three letters of the town's name, hence, today the name is Winnsboro. In 1989, the Winnsboro Preservation League was appointed to advise the city council on all matters related to historical preservation. Their mission statement was to preserve and restore Winnsboro's culture, heritage and historical resources and pass these on to future generations. This group has recognized a number of people, events, structures, homes and organizations worthy of designation with an historical marker. This is way to educate the public about the history of the area. These include markers for the early Crossroads, the Winnsboro Schools, the Depot, the Old City Hall, McGee Cemetery, the Cassel House, the Rock Gym, among many others in an area rich in historical associations. |
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