Lawrence County, Tennessee

Lawrence County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Lawrenceburg
Year Organized: 1817
Square Miles: 617

Court House:

240 West Gains Street
County Courthouse
Lawrenceburg, TN 38464-3676

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Named in honor of James Lawrence (1781- 1813), American naval officer who died commanding the "Chesapeake" against the British frigate "Shannon," known for his dying words, "Don't give up the ship!"

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History of Lawrence County

Created 1817 from Hickman County and Indian lands; named in honor of James Lawrence (1781- 1813), American naval officer who died commanding the "Chesapeake" against the British frigate "Shannon," known for his dying words, "Don't give up the ship!"

Lawrence County was formed in 1817 from Hickman County and Indian lands. (Acts of Tennessee 1817, Chapter 42).

On October 21, 1817, the Tennessee General Assembly created Lawrence County from territory acquired by treaty with the Chickasaw Indians. A section of Hickman County and a small portion of Giles County were included in its boundaries. Local government was established in 1818.

Both the county and the county seat were named in honor of Captain James Lawrence, U.S. Naval hero of the War of 1812. Lawrenceburg, the county seat, was sited near the center of the county, but an important consideration in determining its location was the presence of Jackson's Military Road on the eastern border of the town. As a major thoroughfare from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, the Military Road played a significant role in the economic development of the county; in April 1821 the road was relocated through the center of town.

Davy Crockett served as one of the first commissioners and justices of the peace in Lawrence County. In the four or five years he lived in the area, he operated a water-powered gristmill, a powder mill, and a distillery. Today David Crockett State Park is situated on the site of the frontiersman's land. The park attracts tourists from across the United States, especially during the annual David Crockett Days.

Find more from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: LAWRENCE COUNTY

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 618 square miles (1,600 km²), of which, 617 square miles (1,598 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.12%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Lewis County (north)
Maury County (northeast)
Giles County (east)
Lauderdale County, Alabama (south)
Wayne County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Ethridge	town	Incorporated Area
- Iron City	city	Incorporated Area
- Lawrenceburg (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Loretto	city	Incorporated Area
- St. Joseph	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."