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Tag Archives: history
The Re-establishing: Lawrence County’s Wartime Unionist Government
Our county government was founded on October 21, 1817 by the state legislature. But did you know that it was re-founded 47 years later? On February 13, 1864, a group of local Union sympathizers met at the courthouse in Lawrenceburg … Continue reading
Veterans’ Accounts of the Battle of Sugar Creek
A few veterans’ accounts of the Battle of Sugar Creek in southeastern Lawrence County survive. At least two are found in the book ‘The Military Annals of Tennessee.’ In the mid-1880s, a Nashville educator and civic leader named J. Berrien … Continue reading
Crime on the Wild Frontier
Lawrence County in the days of David Crockett was, indeed, the wild frontier–and that applied to the wild men who lived here as well as the wild animals. According to the Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary for 2022-2023, the … Continue reading
The Daring Escape of John Bell Hollis
John Bell Hollis was just 19 years old, and it looked like he would never see 20. The young Lawrence Countian was scheduled to be shot the next day just outside of Lawrenceburg–until quick thinking and whiskey intervened. Hollis, despite … Continue reading
The Destruction of Crockett’s Mill
Thanks to Hurricane Francine, the weather forecast calls for lots of heavy rain over the next two days, increasing our chances of localized flooding. A little over two-hundred years ago, another September flood in Lawrence County helped change American history. … Continue reading
The Napier Iron Works
Before it was Napier, it was…the McLeish Reservation? When the Chickasaw nation ceded their lands north of the Tennessee River to the United States in September 1816, there were a few exceptions. One of those exceptions was a square mile … Continue reading
Lawrence County’s First Government
“A temporary government of our own…” Did you know that, before the city of Lawrenceburg even existed, there was once an independent and unauthorized government in operation in the area that would become Lawrence County? As can be seen in … Continue reading
Andrew Johnson Hits the Campaign Trail in Lawrenceburg
On June 10, 1853, twelve years before he became President of the United States, Andrew Johnson was on a different campaign trail in Lawrenceburg. That summer, Johnson was running for governor of Tennessee against Gustavus A. Henry. The two men … Continue reading
When David Crockett Became Colonel Crockett
On this day in 1818, David Crockett was commissioned as the Colonel of Lawrence County’s 57th Tennessee Militia Regiment. Elected not long after the county was organized in the fall of 1817, Crockett was the first commander of Lawrence County’s … Continue reading
Lawrence County’s First Courthouse (1821-1905)
On this day in 1905, the demolition of Lawrence County’s first courthouse was underway. The building was torn down to make way for the much grander 1905 Courthouse. Located at the center of the Public Square in Lawrenceburg, according to … Continue reading
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Lawrence County History Trivia 