Fairfield County was a center of activity in the Regulator movement to bring law and order to the backcountry, and in 1769 this area was made part of Camden District under the Circuit Court Act. In 1775 it formed part of the District between the Broad and Catawba Rivers for election purposes. Laid out as the jurisdiction of a county court in 1785, Fairfield became a judicial district in 1800 and a county again in 1868. Winnsboro, settled on land of the Winn family, had about twenty houses by 1780 when it was occupied by Cornwallis. On February 21, 1865, it was occupied again by General W.T. Sherman. Chartered in 1785 by Richard and John Winn and John Vanderhorst, it was made the seat of justice for Fairfield District. Incorporated in 1832, Winnsboro became a social, religious, and educational center of this area.