LAWRENCE COUNTY'S HISTORY BEGAN AT BURLINGTON

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        Taken from Ironton Evening Tribune, Saturday 8 Oct 1949

        Editor's Note: This historical sketch of Lawrence County, was
        written by the late Attorney H.M. Edwards, one of the county's
        leading history students, and was presented to the Tribune by him
        shortly before his death on Feb 19, 1939.

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        Lawrence County's recorded history begins with the settlement of
        Burlington, shortly after the close of the second war with Great
        Britain, probably 1815. The early settlers were a part of the
        contingent that had settled at Marietta and Gallipolis and they
        named the town Burlington, in honor of their home town of
        Burlington, NJ, and later when this county was organized, it was
        named Lawrence in honor of Capt. James Lawrence, whose home was
        also at Burlington, NJ, and who had founght bravely as a naval
        officer in the war of 1812. At first it was part of Washington
        County, whose county seat was at Marietta, and later the western
        half was a part of Adams County, whose county seat is at West
        Union. Later, when the larger counties were divided, a part of the
        eastern part of the county was included in Gallia County and the
        western part belonged to Scioto County, so that in completely
        abstracting title to property in Lawrence County, it frequently is
        necessary to refer to records at Marietta, Gallipolis, Portsmouth
        and West Union, as well as in our home county. Lawrence County was
        organized in 1816 with Burlington as the county seat. The
        population of the county was then only 665. A courthouse was
        erected and a park laid out at Burlington, the park still stand,
        but the courthouse was torn down years ago, although the site is
        still the historic square in the little village of Burlington. Two
        years later, the entire taxes collected in the county in one year
        was $1933.00.



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