About Lawrenceburg

Lawrenceburg Yesterday

Lawrenceburg Today

Lawrenceburg Tomorrow

The area containing today's city of Lawrenceburg began to be settled late in the 1700's by westward-moving settlers using flatboats on the Ohio River. The river played a major role in the early development of the city prior to the 1820's when other means of travel began to develop such as a road, railroad and a canal.

These early settlers were mostly American-born families from Eastern states such as Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, later to be joined after the 1820's by an influx of European immigrants from Germany and Ireland. This wave of immigration was a major source of settlers along the Ohio River as the forests, hills and rich soils reminded the newcomers of similar lands back in Europe.

By 1803 Lawrenceburg had attained enough status among the local communities to become the Dearborn county seat. Today's Dearborn County Courthouse was constructed in the years 1870 and 1871. Two other courthouses preceded the current structure. The building is a beautiful example of neo-classical architecture which was a popular style throughout 19th century America.

For a thorough and highly interesting reading tour of Lawrenceburg's beautiful historical district and its architectural features, please read "A Walk Through Time" as presented by Lawrenceburg Main Street and co-authored by Ms. Chris McHenry.

(read this article here)

Lawrenceburg was lightly affected by the Civil War when 2000 Confederate raiders under the command of Colonel John Hunt Morgan passed just north of the city on the most notorious raid into the North enroute to threaten Cincinnati.

Our City is proud of its many hundreds of veterans who, over the years have sacrificed their well-being and lives in every branch of service and in every war in which the U.S. has been engaged.

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The City of Lawrenceburg enjoys the feel of a relaxed small-town community combined with a great potential for measured growth and development. Visitors can tell immediately that it's a place well cared for. The citizens have a good reason to be proud. Community volunteerism and participation are evident throughout the City and serve well in presenting Lawrenceburg as a place where people have a true and tested sense of commitment and involvement.

Today the City is visibly active in the spirit of self-improvement - through the expansion or enhancement of existing resources such as the Casino and Racetrack, developing new assets such as community parks and the swim park project and by making those necessary adjustments to carry the changes, such as the Tanners Creek Bridge.

Not all of Lawrenceburg's assets are tangible. With an excellent and progressive school system and higher education available at the Ivy Tech Community College plus a vast wealth of youth educational grant and scholarships available to qualifying students through the Dearborn Community Foundation and its benefactors, Lawrenceburg proves that it knows the value that today's youth offers for tomorrow.

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The City of Lawrenceburg presents itself as one of the prime locations for prosperous growth in America's midwest, offering the most desirable resources in an environment that presents a balanced presence of residential, agricultural, corporate and industrial development, ... all centered within the web of one of the country's most travelled interstate transportation networks.

But good development requires a good sense of balanced and monitored growth. This is one of the main reasons for Lawrenceburg's success. The City will accept no trade-off between the quality of life for its Citizens against the potentials of expanding economic benefit. We know that our people are the key element in what makes a great community healthy - so we keep that in mind as we progress.

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