Migration and the Economy
The information above was copied from the Web site named Lawrence County Genealogical Society. The site was maintained by Kathy Niedergeses, but she has retired. We are unsure of the site’s future. Original Lawrence County TNGenWeb Coordinator Reita Jones Burress posted shared content with the LCGS site over the course of 27 years. Therefore, we decided to incorporate the content here. No copyright infringement is intended by providing this information for the benefit of researchers.
Source URL: http://home.lorettotel.net/~lcarchives/earlyhistlawco.htm
The economic depression was not confined to the south; the whole nation suffered. New money brought in by northern capital, helped to rebuild the economy by providing new industries that were geared toward using natural resources. Luckily Lawrence County was rich in two natural resources, iron ore and timber. The establishment of a railroad through Lawrence County assisted, not only the new industries, but also farmers and other businessmen. It played a roll in providing transportation for some of the future waves of immigrants that were to arrive in search of new opportunities.
The large influx of mostly German Catholic immigrants from northern states, starting in 1870 and continuing through the late 1890s, also helped to boost the economy. The Cincinnati German Catholic Homestead Association had purchased several thousand acres of land in Lawrenceburg and several other areas of the county. These families brought their skills and trades to our county, opened businesses, built homes, churches and schools. Farmers among this group expanded their property and prospered; others were involved in the mining and timber business.
Also, in the mid-1880s through the early part of 1900, E. W. “Farmer” Crews, a land speculator/realtor purchased large quantities of land mostly from Ethridge to Buffalo Road and further. He advertised in many northern states, inviting families to visit our county, painting the picture of opportunities far greater than they actually were. About the same time, Joseph J. Crane, in the Summertown vicinity, was also enticing new settlers into the region to further populate the county and boost the economy. Then in the early 1890s a small group of Norwegians settled in and around Lawrenceburg.
From 1908-1920s countless families arrived from Cullman, Winston, Lawrence, Franklin and Morgan counties in Alabama. These industrious people at first purchased land mostly in the southeast part of Lawrence County. Here, they found virgin timber and sawmills sprang up everywhere. After the timber was cleared, a majority of these families planted what they knew best, cotton. As a result, gins sprang up in many communities. These settlers, coming together from so many regions, brought about a wide range of crops grown in Lawrence County, with a large percentage being shipped to other areas, mostly by rail.
By 1896, the assessed value of property was $1,393,797, including 61 miles of railroad, their localized property and 114.40 miles of Western Union Telegraph Company lines. From 1900 to 1920, the population of Lawrence County grew from 15,402 to 23,593, creating quite an economic boom.
An idea was born in 1902 to construct a power plant to provide electricity for Lawrenceburg. A legislative act cleared the way in 1905 and the plant was finished and in operation by 1908, providing the town with cheap electricity and later expanded to three miles out including some farmers and small industries. This was a great boost to the economy since it enticed industries to Lawrence County. Profits paid for street construction, paving, fire fighting equipment and city taxes were lowered.
Plans began to emerge in 1922 for building another power plant in order to produce more electricity, thereby allowing expansion of the area covered and amount of water that could be provided and to anticipate the arrival of more and larger industries. The plant was in operation by 1924, but not finished yet. Not long afterwards, Lawrenceburg again needed more power for the expanding growth in population and industry. However, these dams continued to provide electricity until TVA took over in the 1930s.
The next arrival of a large group of immigrants occurred in March of 1956, when Murray Ohio Mfg. Co. moved their offices and plant to Lawrenceburg. Approximately 100 supervisors and their families made the move to Lawrence County. Over the years, a wide variety of products were made including bicycles, tricycles, lawnmowers, peddle cars and fans. Originally 550 employees were hired, but at its peak, employment was as high as 5,000, with over 4,000 of them being at the plant in Lawrenceburg. Lawrence County has continued to grow in population, economically and demographically over the years and in 2017 will celebrate its 200th birthday. It is now a diverse county with many different cultures, professions, religions and interests.
Sources: Lawrence County Court Minute books; tax records; Private Acts; Indian Treaties; newspapers; census; various county documents, minute books, deeds, etc.
Updated 24 November 2012