Brick
Church Century House
Town Clock
Cornwallis House
County Courthouse
McCrieght House
Museum
St. Stephen's Church
Ridgeway History
Winnsboro History |
County Museum
Contacts: Director: Pelham
Lyles email: fairfieldmus@InfoAve.Net Hours of
operation: Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 am-5:00 pm (closed for lunch - 12:30-1:30pm)
Saturday: 10:00 am-3:00 pm
The Fairfield County Museum is housed in an elegantly simple Federal
style house built for Richard Cathcart in the early 19th century.
A three-story brick structure, the house retains its original heart
pine floors and hand-carved woodwork.
In 1852, artist George Ladd and his wife Catherine acquired the
building to operate a girls' school. Enrollment reached 100 young ladies
before the school was forced to close by the War Between the States.
Priscilla Ketchin and her family made their home here from the l870's
until Mrs. Ketchin's death in 1911. Subsequently, the building became
rental property, a public school, a hotel and a boarding house.
In 1969, the property was deeded to Fairfield County to be restored.
Restoration was completed in 1974 under the auspices of the Fairfield
County Historical Commission and Fairfield County Historical Society,
using government and private funds. The landmark Cathcart-Ketchin
building. opened its doors on March 15, 1976, as the Faiffield County
Museum.
The main floor of the museum is maintained as an historic house with
antique furnishings in period rooms. Other floors exhibit collections
related to Fairfield County history. Museum collections include 19th
century clothing and quilts, Victorian accessories, toys, Indian and
military artifacts, tools, kitchen and sewing implements, banking and
commerce displays.
Genealogy is an important museum activity. Volunteers maintain an
extensive library of wills, estate papers on microfilm, cemetery
records, histories of area families and land grant
information. Visitors and letters come from across the United States
seeking information. The genealogy staff conducts constant
correspondence to satisfy these inquiries. The genealogy staff is at the
museum on Wednesdays and is available on call.
Traditional events at the museum include community and school art
exhibitions and the Candlelight Open House in December. Special
exhibitions fill out the museum calendar each year. |
