On July 15, 1776, Indians and Tories attacked Lindley's Fort, a frontier fort where area settlers had gathered for protection. Major Jonathan Downs, with a company of men, had arrived the previous evening and helped repulse the attack, and this victory encouraged the American cause locally. The site is located about 600 yards south. Jonathan Downs was one of the Justices of the Peace chosen to settle a courthouse site for Laurens County, was a member of the 1st and 2nd Provincial Congresses, and served in the South Carolina General Assembly. His Revolutionary War service included the Laurens County battles of Lindley's Fort in 1776, where he was commander, and Hayes' Station in 1781. He died in 1818.