Lawrence

Formed March 20, 1849 (62^nd county)

Lawrence County (86,069), New Castle (21,930)

The white brick Classical Revival courthouse was erected in 1852 and remodeled in 2003.  The building was enlarged in 1886, 1914, and 1944.  The courthouse is on Court Street between Washington and Milton streets.  Washington Street is United States Highway 422 Business.  James M. Craig and William Hamilton are the architects.  A Government Center was added in 1979.  The county was founded on March 20, 1849 from parts of Beaver and Mercer counties as the 62^nd county.  New Castle has always been the county seat.  The county is named for the flagship of Commodore Perry from the War of 1812, the USS Lawrence or Captain James Lawrence.  New Castle is named for Newcastle, England.  Lawrence County is the birthplace of 1 Pennsylvania governor, Raymond P. Shafer. 

Lawrence County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Six Common Pleas Court Judges and Five Magistrate Court Judges serve Lawrence County.  Lawrence County is on the western border with Ohio.  Erie, Pennsylvania is north and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is southeast of the county.  The county center is 3.9 miles South-Southeast of New Castle nearer Mahoningtown.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Mercer, Butler, and Beaver counties and Ohio. 

The area of the county is 363 square miles.  It is 60 out of 67 in the state.  It ranks 33 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 237.1 persons per square mile making it 23 out of 67 in the state.  Lawrence County has 42.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 76 clips the southwest corner of the county from Beaver County, south, to Ohio, west.  Interstate Highway 79 cuts the northeast corner from Mercer County, north, to Butler County, east.  United States Highway 19 parallels Interstate Highway 79 from Mercer to Butler counties.  United States Highway 224 originates and heads west into Ohio.  United States Highway 422 crosses east to west from Butler County to Ohio.  Lawrence County is a rectangle with a nose added on the northeast corner.  New Castle is located slightly west of center in the county.  New Castle is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 25.5% of the county population.  This county is in the New Castle Micropolitan Statistical Area.