Category Archives: Uncategorized
Armistice Day in West Point
Did you attend a Veterans Day parade or ceremony yesterday? If you did, you continued a century-old tradition in Lawrence County. Veterans Day is observed on November 11. It has been known as Veterans Day since 1954. Prior to that, … Continue reading
The Man Who Owned Three Square Miles of Lawrence County
How many people can say that they have owned over 3 square miles of land in Lawrence County AND had an American hero as a squatter on that land? John Christmas McLemore (1790-1864) was one of the most powerful men … Continue reading
The Battle of Lawrenceburg
On this day 162 years ago, Federal soldiers surrounded the courthouse in Lawrenceburg with torches at the ready after a brief fight in the streets. But quick thinking on the part of a local citizen saved our courthouse and our … Continue reading
A Yankee Spy in Lawrenceburg
A Confederate spy, a black market for clandestine cotton, and a town just as defiant in the middle of the Civil War as it was at the beginning? According to one eyewitness on this day 162 years ago, that was … Continue reading
A Brief History of the Central Turnpike
Can you imagine paying a toll to get from Summertown to West End? Let’s travel through time on the Central Turnpike. The Turnpike, which runs from West End Fire Hall to Henryville to Summertown in Lawrence County, was originally a … Continue reading
The Chickasaw Cession of Lawrence County
Can you imagine paying only two cents per acre for land in Lawrence County? What about almost the ENTIRE county, plus most of the counties around it? Most of Lawrence County was legally opened for white settlement by a treaty … Continue reading
When the Klan Showed Up at Cumberland Presbyterian Church
On this day 102 years ago, the parishioners of Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lawrenceburg witnessed an unusual masquerade. As the Lawrence ‘News’ reported, Dr. John R. Morris was ending his sermon that night when “five white-robed men came in at … Continue reading
The Rebirth of West Gaines School
Did you know that a school built for African-American children during the Jim Crow era in Lawrenceburg is still standing? And that there is a fantastic group of people working to preserve it? Since 2019, the West Gaines School Community Center group … Continue reading
Fightin’ Joe Fights in Lawrence County
On this day 161 years ago, Confederate General “Fightin’” Joe Wheeler was fightin’ in Lawrence County. The months leading up to Hood’s ill-fated Nashville campaign in the fall of 1864 saw a noticeable surge in Confederate guerrilla activity in Middle … Continue reading
The First Tractor in Lawrence County
This weekend was the annual Crossroads of Dixie Antique Tractor & Engine Club’s annual tractor show in Lawrenceburg! Did you get a chance to see it? The tractor first came to Lawrence County around the turn of the 20th century. … Continue reading
Lawrence County History Trivia 