Winnsboro has a rich and varied history that extends from the days of
the Caddo Indians to the French settlements and from the wild logging
era to the rather calm visits of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.

The land on which the town is located was first surveyed in 1835, by
Gray B. King and carved from the State of Caohuila and Texas, then
a state under the Mexican government. 

The location is astride the boundary between the Louisiana Territory
and Old Mexico and equidistant from Dallas, Shreveport, and Texarkana.

The first settlers, John E. Winn and W.R. McMillan, came to Winnsboro
prior to 1854.  They came through "Crossroads", the original name of
the town, were attracted to the rich land on the edge of the piney woods,
and purchased 351 acres in the Gray B. King tract. 

They opened the first post office in 1855, along with their mercantile
business.  The town Crossroads was open for business.

The citizens soon changed the name to "Winnsborough" in honor of
the original founder.  It retained that spelling until 1889, when the
government changed the spelling to "Winnsboro".