Lawrence

Formed December 21, 1815 (47^th county)

Lawrence County (58,236), Ironton (10,572)

The capitol looking Greek Revival and Beaux Arts building was constructed in 1908 and is under remodeling in 2019.  It is located on 4^th Street at Center Street.  The courthouse is six blocks southwest of United States Highway 52 in the town.  Richards McCarty and Bulford provided the masonry courthouse designs.  The building features a dome.  A Government Center was added in 1974.  The county was established on December 21, 1815 from parts of Gallia and Scioto counties as the 47^th county.  It is named for Naval hero James Lawrence.  Ironton is a descriptive name for the local iron industry.  Burlington was the first county seat until 1851 when Ironton assumed the seat. 

Lawrence County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Three Common Pleas Court Judges serve Lawrence County.  The county is on the southern tip of Ohio.  The Ohio River forms its southern border with Kentucky.  Cincinnati, Ohio is northwest and Columbus, Ohio is north of the county.  The county center is 12.6 miles Northeast of Ironton nearer Aid.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Jackson and Gallia counties and West Virginia and Kentucky and Scioto County. 

The area of the county is 455 square miles.  It is 41 out of 88 in the state.  It ranks 46 out of 88 in population in the state.  It has a density of 128.0 persons per square mile making it 39 out of 88 in the state.  Lawrence County has 31.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 52 enters the county from the west, Scioto County, and exits to the south, West Virginia.  The county resembles a bag of marble.  The county seat is located on the southwest border of the county.  Ironton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 18.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Huntington-Ashland Metropolitan Statistical Area.

South Point