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Author Archives: Clint
Klan Violence in Lawrence County
In the autumn of 1926, groups of masked vigilantes conducted a campaign of terror in Lawrence County. They dragged nine men out of their beds, blindfolded them, beat them in front of their homes, and then left with a bone-chilling … Continue reading
The Death of John Bicknell
Not long after the Civil War ended, a young man was murdered on the Central Turnpike on the approach to the then-abandoned village of Summertown. What followed was a forgotten, sad–and bizarre–chapter in local history. In those days, wild men … Continue reading
Lawrence County’s First Civil Districts
We take it for granted today that each county in Tennessee is subdivided into smaller civil districts. These districts each contain a relatively equal proportion of the county’s population. Our county commission is made up of representatives elected by the … Continue reading
When To Plant: Some Agricultural Folk Wisdom
Have you ever heard of planting by the signs? The right time to plant is the subject of a great deal of folk tradition. In preindustrial times, Lawrence County farmers and gardeners relied on received wisdom from their elders to … Continue reading
Ancient Treasures
How long have people lived in Lawrence County? Quite a long time. Most anthropologists believe that Native Americans first came to Tennessee a little more than 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. For context, if … Continue reading
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Lawrenceburg’s Mysterious Cannonball
In 1956, a crew from the Lawrenceburg Street Department found something unusual buried beneath downtown Lawrenceburg. After the crew dug it up, foreman Ira Johnson examined it and determined that it was a cannonball. Beyond this, we know maddeningly little … Continue reading
William Hicks and the Struggles of Lawrence County’s Free People of Color
One Lawrence County man was taken to court in 1858 for the crime of…staying in Tennessee too long? Enslaved people who were freed before the Civil War or African-Americans who were born free were known as free people of color. … Continue reading
That Time David Crockett Killed 105 Bears in One Winter
Did you know that Lawrence County founding father David Crockett claimed to have killed 105 bears in one winter–including 47 of them in one month? In his autobiography, David Crockett wrote that the winter of 1825-1826 was very busy. This … Continue reading
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When Shoal Creek Was Called Indian Creek
Shoal Creek was once known as Indian Creek? In the spring of 1818, David Crockett and a group of other important men met at a place about four miles north of Pine Bluff, and listened to a man named Henry … Continue reading
The New Jackson Highway Goes East
That view has certainly changed! This undated view of Locust Street in Lawrenceburg looking north from the Pulaski Street intersection is part of the Old Jail Museum’s collection of more than 150 historic local postcards. Although today Locust Street is … Continue reading
Lawrence County History Trivia 