Fountain Inn, the only town known by that name in the United States, was born in the welcoming shadow of an old stagecoach stop, an inn that welcomed weary travelers to a night's rest. Situated on the old stagecoach route between Greenville and Columbia, the inn was little more than a large house, but, in its day, it had become a welcome and famous stopping point. 
Its popularity was due largely to the ever-flowing spring that gushed up, they say, in a fountain 2-feet high within a few feet of the inn. Tradition has it that even the horses would prick up their ears and break into a trot as they approached the inn with the fountain and the resting point it promised.
Buoyed by tradition and a burgeoning downtown, Fountain Inn continues to offer a full slate of events for residents and visitors, with new opportunities hitting the calendar each month.
With a historic setting in the growing Golden Strip area, Fountain Inn is quenching the thirst of local residents who want true community experiences.
One of the city’s signature events is Aunt Het Day, held the first Saturday in October. The 2012 festival will mark the 29th anniversary of the event held in honor of Robert Quillen’s homespun cartoon character, AUNT HET.
Two Fountain Inn schools overcrowded by population growth were relieved last year with the opening of Rudolph Gordon Elementary School, but eventually more construction will be necessary to keep pace.
“We have continued growth projected in the southern end of the county,” said Greenville County Schools spokesman Oby Lyles.
Gordon elementary, built at Jones Mill and Scuffletown roads on the north side of town, eased strain at Bryson Elementary and Bell’s Crossing Elementary. It is the fifth public school serving Fountain In residents, joining Fountain Inn Elementary, Bryson Elementary, Bryson Middle and Hillcrest High. Bell’s Crossing serves an area further north, northeast of Simpsonville.