City Directories and History: Fairfield Hood and Ladder Company, 1961- Fairfield County Library
“Winnsboro for a town of its size has one of the best fire departments in the Southern States. The chief of the department is R.J. McCarty, assistant chief, W.G. Jordan. The department consists of one steam engine, one hand engine (colored), one hook and ladder truck (colored), and three hose carriages. Siamese couplings are used and 1,500 feet of good rubber hose are on hand always. The value of apparatus and supplies is $5,500, the number of members about 150, the two buildings used by the department are the property of the town, the annual expenses are set down at $600, the water supply for the department is obtained from seven cisterns supplied from roofs of buildings, and the fire alarm is given by the town bell. The town council is now taking steps to erect another engine house, which, with those now in use, will give ample accommodation.
The officers of the Winnsboro Steam Fire Engine Company are: President, J.H. Cummings; vice president, T.K. Elliott; first director, T.W. Lauderdale; second director, T.H. Kitchen; third director, A. Landecker; fourth director, C.F. Cathcart; chief engineer, B.J. Quattlebaum; first assistant engineer, W.A. Beattie; second assistant engineer, H.C. Elliott.” Reprinted from South Carolina in the 1880s: A Gazetteer by J.H. Moore, Sandlapper Publishing Company – 1989
This historic structure has severed a number of purposes over its history, including the use as the power plant for Winnsboro in the early 20th century. The Winnsboro Fire Department was operated here, the Fairfield County Library as well as the Winnsboro Women’s Club.
Built around 1900 for Winnsboro’s then new electrical system. Next use was as the fire department. Then it became the Fairfield County Library until the mid 1970’s when the current library on West Washington Street was built. It was bought by the Winnsboro Womens Club and is now used for many civic and social events. [Contribution from J.M. Lyles]
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Susan Yenner says
The building was trade between the Town and the Woman’s Club in the late 1940s. The club owned a wooden house where Winnsboro Public Safety now stands. In order to build that building, they town traded the wooden house for the old “pump house”. The town and the club entered into a contractual arrangement whereby the town retains ownership but the club has use of the building as long as there is a functioning Woman’s Club. The contract was recorded in the County Clerks office. I was told by an older member, now deceased, that the club couldn’t afford the upkeep on the building so they rented it to Fairfield County for the library. The library, which was initiated in great part by the Woman’s club, occupied the building until the current library was built. The Woman’s club has taken it back and made many improvements to the structure.