History · Lawrence

Lawrence’s post office opened in 1846, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns · #304 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

Most of Lawrence was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 157 buildings between them. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1880.

1846first post office

5on the National Register

3%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Lawrence began

When was Lawrence founded?

1846

The Lawrence post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Oaklandon (1870), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 253 in 18802020 census: 49,370180 years

How historic is Lawrence?

B⁺

More historic than 67% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓

Founding year: the first Lawrence post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

History grade

What drives Lawrence’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawrence is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #304 of 593 in Indiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B⁺

HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lawrence’s overall grade.

Founding era1846, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA⁻Homes built before 19403.1% of homes (±1.0) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%C⁻National Register5 listings, 159 historic buildings, 32.1 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A⁻

All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 67%

NewerOlder

Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 49%

Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lawrence’s 32.1 sits above most of its state (71% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 159 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Lawrence’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lawrence are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Fort Benjamin Harrison Historic District takes in 100 historic buildings.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Lawrence, and 7 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsA post office since 1846: 180 years of Lawrence.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lawrence’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lawrence’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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On the National Register

5 listings protect 159 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

159

each building in a district counts

first listed

1980

Christopher Apple House

BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Federal1

Greek Revival1

Prairie Style1

Colonial Revival1

Christopher Apple HouseFederal · Built 1859

Fort Harrison Terminal StationPrairie Style

Fort Benjamin Harrison Historic DistrictColonial Revival

Camp Edwin F. GlennDistrict

Oaklandon Historic DistrictDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Lawrence had its own post office from 1846 to 1950. Another post office, Oaklandon, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lawrence

1846–1950

Oaklandon

1870–1960

18401930today

Hamlets and corners on the map

Fall Creek HighlandIndian LakeMaplewood Mobile Home ParkOaklandonRainbow HighlandsRobinsonTrilobi Hills

7cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lawrence

DayHossMcCordMockOld OaklandonToddVine

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Lawrence came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lawrence.

Read it all →

The municipality was platted in 1849 under the name "Lanesville", but other names were tried because there was already another Lanesville in Indiana. The name "Jamestown", in honor of the town's founder James White, was used for a while, but in 1866 the Marion County Commissioners approved the name "Lawrence", which is also the name of the township in which it is located. The name was in honor of Captain James Lawrence, naval hero of the War of 1812. In 1929 the citizens of Lawrence voted to become an independent town, where they first established the town marshal, as well as other parts of government.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Lawrence, 1858–1918

Passages that mention Lawrence, cut from the printed page as they were published.

The bridge remained a toll bridge until 1868 when it became free, as a public highway, the city paying the larger part of the value and assuming the care of the bridge under the county commissioners' award. At the same time, Lawrence Bridge at Union street was made free in a like manner. The latter… — **Lawrence yesterday and today (1845-1918) a concise history of Lawrence Massachusetts - her industries and institutions**1918 · page 19Read the page →
Read the text
The bridge remained a toll bridge until 1868 when it became free, as a public highway, the city paying the larger part of the value and assuming the care of the bridge under the county commissioners' award. At the same time, Lawrence Bridge at Union street was made free in a like manner. The latter had been built in 1854 — 55 for the purpose of accommodating North Andover and Lawrence, and also avoiding the railroad crossing, at grade, near the Andover Bridge.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

the first The history of the territory, now comprised within the Hmits of the city, as Lawrence literally begins with the incorporation of the town, though the foundation from which the town sprung, and upon which the city grew, was started on August i, 1845, with the excavating for the great stone… — **Lawrence yesterday and today (1845-1918) a concise history of Lawrence Massachusetts - her industries and institutions**1918 · page 31Read the page →
Read the text
the first The history of the territory, now comprised within the Hmits of the city, as Lawrence literally begins with the incorporation of the town, though the foundation from which the town sprung, and upon which the city grew, was started on August i, 1845, with the excavating for the great stone dam of the Essex Company. When the Town of Lawrence was incorporated, April 17, 1847. the gigantic scheme of establishing a textile centre about Bodwell's Falls was well under way.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Lawrence county was at first a portion of Knox and Harrison counties. In tlie vear 1814 it liecame identified witli Washington county, and in 1816 a part of Orange county. The county of Lawrence itself was created in 1818, and uanied for Cajn. jaines Lawrence, a Ignited States navy ofificer. comman… — **History of Lawrence and Monroe counties, Indiana**1914 · page 34Read the page →
Read the text
Lawrence county was at first a portion of Knox and Harrison counties. In tlie vear 1814 it liecame identified witli Washington county, and in 1816 a part of Orange county. The county of Lawrence itself was created in 1818, and uanied for Cajn. jaines Lawrence, a Ignited States navy ofificer. commander of the frigate "'Chesapeake." Captain La\\ rencc lost his life in the battle witli the English frigate "Sliannon."
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

The Lawrence Genealooy. 41 Lawrence to London, he was in the yearly practice of sending choice fruit from his farm, which practice, after his death, was kept up by his youngest surviving son, Lott. His marriage with the said Lydia Lawrence, sister of the above named Effingham Lawrence, was consumma… — **Historical genealogy of the Lawrence family**1858 · page 41Read the page →
Read the text
The Lawrence Genealooy. 41 Lawrence to London, he was in the yearly practice of sending choice fruit from his farm, which practice, after his death, was kept up by his youngest surviving son, Lott. His marriage with the said Lydia Lawrence, sister of the above named Effingham Lawrence, was consummated at the Friends' meeting-house at Fhishing (see Appendix R). Their children were :
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Lawrence, 1846 to 1960

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1846Post officeThe Lawrence post office opens
1859BuiltChristopher Apple House is built
1870Post officeThe Oaklandon post office opens
20th century
1926Born hereBill Blackbeard is born here
1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
1950Post officeThe Lawrence post office closes
1960Post officeThe Oaklandon post office closes

By decade

Lawrence, decade by decade

Today30 recent

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-034)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-033)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-032)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-031)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-029)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-027)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-026)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-024)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-022)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-018)

2021Fruits and Vegetables (20210202-BO-NRCS-017)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-015)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-014)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-013)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-012)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-010)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-009)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-008)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-006)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-005)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-004)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-003)

2021Farmers and Ranchers (20210202-BO-NRCS-002)

202120210202-BO-NRCS-036 - Flickr - USDAgov

2020Lawrence Government building

2020Lawerence, Indiana post office

2020City of

2019Flag of

2017Snafu Saloon in Indianapolis

2011Dean Jessup mayor

On the map

Lawrence on the map, 1948 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawrence. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1948Indianapolis East sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lawrence.

People over time

Lawrence, census by census

Grew from 253 people in 1880 to 49,370 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lawrence’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Indianapolis261 historic placesA Lawrence Township8 historic placesB⁺Buck Creek Township1 historic placeB⁻

Questions about Lawrence’s history

What year was Lawrence founded?

The Lawrence post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Lawrence rank for history?

Lawrence is more historic than 67% of U.S. towns, #304 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Lawrence?

5 listings: 2 buildings, among them the Christopher Apple House (listed 1980, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Fort Benjamin Harrison Historic District, the Camp Edwin F. Glenn and the Oaklandon Historic District, with 157 contributing buildings. 159 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Lawrence?

3% of Lawrence’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1992.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →

Start a conversation

Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (30), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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