The Fairfield Herald Archive

In the History of South Carolina, David Duncan Wallace applauded the Winnsboro News and Herald (1849-1982) as a newspaper "in which the people take a personal pride." During its long run, the News and Herald served as witness to a number of major developments in Fairfield County: the completion of the Columbia and Charlotte Railroad in 1850; the establishment of the Blythewood Female Institute (also known as the Blythewood Female Seminary) in 1860 and Fairfield Institute in 1869; and the rise of quarrying, brickmaking, and textile manufacturing in the late 19th century. The Winnsboro News and Herald began as two newspapers, the Fairfield Herald and the Winnsboro Tri-weekly News. Edward H. Britton established the weekly Fairfield Herald in 1849; he later launched two companion newspapers, the Winnsboro Daily Register and triweekly Winnsboro Register. The Fairfield Herald suspended publication during the Civil War, but it was resumed in June 1866.

The Winnsboro Tri-Weekly News first appeared in February 1865 as the Winnsboro Daily News. A month later, it resurfaced as the weekly Fairfield Courier, of which only one issue was ever published. In October 1876, the Winnsboro Tri-Weekly News was merged with the Fairfield Herald and renamed the weekly Winnsboro News and Herald. Somewhat confusingly, a tri-weekly newspaper, also called the Winnsboro News and Herald was established shortly thereafter (it was later continued as the Fairfield News and Herald). In 1901, James Frank Fooshe discontinued the triweekly Fairfield News and Herald and continued the Winnsboro News and Herald first as a semiweekly paper, and then as a weekly.

Several of the men who ran these newspapers were leaders in the community. Henry Gaillard served as a state representative (1876-80), state senator (1880-83), clerk of the Senate (1886-89), and as commissioner of elections for Fairfield County (1882, 1884). James Fooshe edited the monthly Carolina Teachers' Journal and served as principal of the Mount Zion School, secretary of the Fairfield Agricultural Society, and commissioner for the South Carolina and West Indian Exposition. Percy Dees served as secretary of the Fairfield Country Club, vice president of the South Carolina Press Association, and town councilman.

In the early 20th century, the Winnsboro News and Herald underwent several ownership changes before being purchased by George McMaster Ketchin in 1935. Ketchin, working alongside with Emmy Lou Fellers, went on to edit and publish the News and Herald for 40 years. In 1982, the News and Herald was merged with the Fairfield Independent and renamed the Herald Independent, bringing to an end an enterprise that had lasted for over a century.