Lawrence County, Illinois

Lawrence County Education, Geography, and History

Lawrence County is the easternmost county in the state of Illinois (excluding water boundaries). According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,833.  Lawrence County was created on January 16, 1821. The county seat is Lawrenceville. The county is named for Captain James Lawrence (1781-1813), commander of the USS Chesapeake in the War of 1812.

Etymology - Origin of Lawrence County Name

Lawrence County is named for Captain James Lawrence, commander of the USS. Chesapeake, killed in naval battle in 1812. Famous for his command "Don't give up the ship!".

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Lawrence County History

Lawrence County was created on January 16, 1821 (Laws, 1821, p. 16) and was formed from Crawford and Edwards Counties. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Crawford County (1816-1821), Edwards County (1815-1819), Gallatin County (1812-1815),Madison County (1812-1815), Randolph County (1809-1812) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790-1809).

The County was named for Captain James Lawrence, Commander of the Chesapeake, who was mortally wounded in an engagement between that vessel and the British vessel, Shannon, during the War of 1812. The County Seat is Lawrenceville . Prior County Seats was Home of Toussaint Dubois (Lawrenceville) (1821) and Lawrenceville (1821-Present).

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 374 square miles (968 km²), of which, 372 square miles (963 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (5 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.

 Lawrence county is located in southeast Illinois. Red Hills State Park is located in this county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Crawford County
• East: Knox County, Ind.
• Southwest: Wabash County
• West: Richland County
  

Education

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