One of the most consequential elections in Lawrence County history occurred on May 17, 1879. That day, the people of the county voted 1,266 to 217 in favor of subscribing to the Nashville & Florence Railroad.

Local leaders pushed for the railroad to come to Lawrence County for many years. In addition to the benefits of faster travel, many believed that the county’s iron ore deposits could be tapped for maximum profit if a railroad ran through the county to ship it faster.

As William T. Nixon wrote in his diary a few months after the vote, “Every industry and energy seems to be suspended upon the success of this enterprise.” Nixon’s father, Colonel George H. Nixon was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Lawrence County.

According to the Nashville ‘Daily American,’ “The election passed off very quietly, and it was not until the returns came in sufficiently to remove all doubt of success, that the people gave way to their enthusiasm. At night, the town was illuminated, anvils were fired, speeches were made, bonfires kindled, and the whole town seemed intoxicated with enthusiasm or–something else.”

The vote authorized the county court to pay $50,000 to the Nashville & Florence Railroad to build a railroad the length of Lawrence County, from the Maury County line to the Alabama line.

The first passenger train arrived in Lawrenceburg in the autumn of 1883. That day, the people of the county came out in full force to celebrate with a massive public barbecue. Nixon confided to his diary again after the barbecue that it was a “fine day for old Lawrence and marks an epoch in her history. The old town with her sleepy ways is dead, a new town with new life activity and energy is ours.”