[1] It was named in honor of Captain James Lawrence (1781–1813),[1] who while commanding the USS Chesapeake in an 1813 battle with the Royal Navy frigate HMS Shannon, issued his famous command: "Don't give up the ship!

The military road, the main route from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Nashville, Tennessee, played a significant role in the county's development.

[1] An early resident was David Crockett, who served as one of the county's first commissioners and justices of the peace.

Crockett lived in the county for several years and ran a water-powered grist mill, powder mill and distillery on Shoal Creek, (originally called the Sycamore River) where David Crockett State Park is now located.

[6] After the arrival of the railroad in 1883, the county became a major source of iron ore.[1] Between 1908 and 1915, there was an influx of settlers from Alabama.

Logging soon declined, since the forests were not replanted after trees were harvested; however, cotton continued to be a major crop until the 1960s.

[1] In 1944, Amish people moved to the area and established a community in the north of the county.

[10] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 44,159 people, 15,960 households, and 11,028 families residing in the county.

As such, the Board enacts all legislation and authorizes programs and expenditures within Lawrence County.

Lawrence only voted for two losers between 1904 and 2004, Charles Evans Hughes in 1916 and Richard Nixon in 1960.