In 1941, Barnwell County was home to four of the most powerful men in South Carolina government, who for a time served simultaneously: Edgar A. Brown, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; J. Emile Harley, governor and president pro tempore of the Senate; Solomon Blatt, Sr., Speaker of the House; and Winchester Smith, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, together comprising the legendary Barnwell Ring. Three of them lived in sight of Collins Park, and the Ring continued to attract the attention of political scientists, politicians, historians, and the media. Solomon Blatt, born in Blackville in 1895 and dead in 1986, served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1933 to 1986, including terms as Speaker Pro Tempore, Speaker, and Speaker Emeritus; practiced law with J. Emile Harley and later in Blatt and Fales; served as a trustee of the Barnwell School District and the University of South Carolina; was recognized throughout the state as “Mr. Speaker”; reportedly served longer as presiding officer of a legislative body than anyone else in America; and at his death had completed fifty-three consecutive years in the House, earning recognition as the country’s longest-serving legislator. Along with state Senator Edgar Brown, the longtime Senate president pro tempore known as “The Bishop of Barnwell,” Blatt helped fashion much of South Carolina’s modern state government. Edgar Allan Brown, born in 1888 and dead in 1975, worked as a court stenographer, served in the House of Representatives and as Speaker, then as a South Carolina senator from 1929 to 1972, while also serving as Senate president pro tempore and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1942 to 1972; he also held roles with Clemson University, the S.C. Bar Association, and the Democratic Party, and was associated with fiscal responsibility in government, an efficient highway system, and expanded educational opportunities. Joseph Emile Harley, born in 1880 and dead in 1942 while serving as governor, was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, served in the South Carolina House of Representatives, was mayor of Barnwell, chaired the House Judiciary Committee, was elected lieutenant governor, was re-elected to that office, and was appointed governor in 1941; he was remembered as a leading lawyer, an active public figure, and a public servant marked by honesty, integrity, and readiness to help others. Winchester C. Smith, Jr., born in 1896 and dead in 1972, was a farmer at Williston who served in the S.C. House of Representatives, chaired the House Ways and Means Committee, sat on the State Budget Commission, led the State Democratic Party, served on the South Carolina Public Service Commission, was a life member of the Clemson University Board of Trustees, and served on the Barnwell County Hospital Board of Trustees; known locally as “Win” or “Mr. Win,” he was remembered as unpretentious and devoted to helping the people of Barnwell County.