Settlement and Growth
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
When the territory was opened up for colonization, settlers, both old and young, flocked into the area, mostly from South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. A few were from Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama. Several of these pioneers had already left their native state and were living in other counties in Tennessee. While some settlers found fertile land, others found land that was either dense forests, barrens, or poor land overgrown with vegetation or swamps. The forests were populated by wolves, wildcats, deer, turkeys and various other animals and birds. Laws were just being established and people to enforce them were newly elected. Not exactly the promised land, but a chance to carve a home of their own out of the wilderness.
Besides their skills and trades, they brought with them their hopes and dreams, willingness to work hard, and their determination to succeed and better their lives. Some remained and their descendants live here today, while others were just passing through, only staying a few years before going to what they hoped would be a better opportunity.
The United States government had very little money in its coffers after the Revolutionary War, so individuals were granted land for their service in this war in lieu of monetary compensation. Although the majority of the people who were given military land warrants (grants) never came to Lawrence County, a few did. Others sold the rights at nominal fees to individuals who truly wanted a fresh start in new territory and the opportunity to own their own property. Also, land speculators purchased numerous grants and resold them for a higher price. However, the majority of the land grants in Lawrence County were occupant grants.
To obtain an occupant grant, a person first located the property they desired, resided on it for three years and showed that improvements had been made. Afterwards, they filed an entry, then had it surveyed, for which the settler paid a small fee. At this point, the description of the property was sent to the state. After several months, if the state determined that no one had previously claimed rights to this property, the grant was awarded.
The settler’s first priority, after staking their claim or purchasing property, was to provide shelter for their families by constructing a home, no matter how crude. The land had to be cleared in order to plant crops to provide food for their families and livestock. Livestock kept during Lawrence County’s early years were mainly cows, sheep, pigs, mules, horses and oxen. Crops grown were wheat, corn, cotton, fruits and tobacco. Early industry consisted of sawmills, flour mills, powder mills, cotton mills and the production of iron ore.
The area around Henryville was the first actual settlement, having been settled a year or two before Lawrenceburg. Small communities and a few villages begin to appear in other areas of the county, Blue Water, Chinubee, West Point, Rossborough, Appleton, Sugar Creek, Wayland Springs, Wolf Creek, Marcella Falls, Pleasant Point, Fall River. Many others were established later.
In making provisions for the census, an enumeration of taxable property, polls and voters was ordered November 1818. The results were returned May 6, 1819 listing a total of 458 males over age 21. In 1819, precinct elections were at Jacob Pennington’s and John Null’s; and in April of 1821, voting precincts were at the town of Lawrenceburg, Jacob Pennington’s and John Null’s. By 1823, the districts were divided by captains, with 1835 being the last division before they were designated with numbers. The constitution of 1836 provided that there be twelve equal districts using numbers; in 1855, districts were split again for a total of fifteen. The population for the county in 1820 was 3,271 including 204 slaves; 1830 enumeration was 5,411 with 552 slaves with the count rising every year, until slavery reached its max in 1850 with population being 9,280 including 1,162 slaves.
Updated 24 November 2012