Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

Lawrence County Education, Geography, and History

Lawrence County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 91,108. The county seat is New Castle.

Lawrence County makes up the entire New Castle, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-OH-WV Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Lawrence County Name

Named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's first flagship, the US Brig Lawrence, which had been named for Captain James Lawrence, a naval hero.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Lawrence County History

Created March 20, 1849, from parts of Beaver and Mercer Counties and named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's first flagship, the US Brig Lawrence, which had been named for Captain James Lawrence, a naval hero. New Castle, the county seat, was laid out in 1802, incorporated as a borough on March 25, 1825, and chartered as a city on February 25, 1869. It is not certain whether it was named for Newcastle, England, or New Castle, Delaware.

This area was formally acquired from Native Americans by the 1784 Treaty of Fort Stanwix, the "Last Purchase," and migrants from Allegheny County began to settle in 1793. Newcastle quickly grew to be an industrial center because the county had limestone quarries, iron ore, and coal. Its stone blast furnaces for making iron, started in 1838, were located in both Beaver and Mercer Counties, and the county was created to eliminate that confusing situation. Canals arrived in the 1830s and the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1850. Connection with Youngstown, Ohio was very important. The 1890s were the "Golden Age of Industry," as Lawrence became the world's leader in tin plating. Lawrence also produced hardware, paper, pottery, cement, and linseed oil. There was some oil production. The industrial complex brought vast numbers of southern and eastern Europeans, beginning in 1875. The population peaked at 113,000 in 1960, but deindustrialization became pronounced in the 1970s.

As in Berks County, there was always farming outside the factory areas. Today, 42 percent of the county is farmland. It ranks about midway in value of farm products among the sixty-seven counties.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 363 square miles (940 km²), of which, 360 square miles (934 km²) of it is land and 2 square miles (6 km²) of it (0.63%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Mercer County (north)
• Butler County (east)
• Beaver County (south)
• Columbiana County, Ohio (southwest)
• Mahoning County, Ohio (west)

Education

Colleges

Butler Community College Lawrence Crossing Campus
Erie Business College
Westminster College - New Wilmington

Public school districts

Blackhawk School District (part)
Ellwood City Area School District (part)
Laurel School District (Home of the Spartans)
Mohawk Area School District
Neshannock Township School District
New Castle Area School District
Shenango School District
Union Area School District
Wilmington Area School District (part)

Tech schools

Erie Business Center South - New Castle (Closed 2014)
Lawrence County Career Technology Center - New Castle
New Castle School of Trades - New Castle

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