Lawrenceburg’s post office opened in 1817, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #66 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of Lawrenceburg was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. 6 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 45 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: the first Lawrenceburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lawrenceburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lawrenceburg is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #66 of 142 in Kentucky. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lawrenceburg’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lawrenceburg’s 41.9 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 50 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 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 Lawrenceburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The site of Lawrenceburg was settled in the early 1780s by a German immigrant named Jacob Kaufman and was first called Kaufman's or Coffman's Station. The post office was established as Lawrenceburg on January 22, 1817, for William Lawrence, a local tavern owner. The community was incorporated as Lawrence in 1820 by the Court of Franklin County (of which it was then a part) but renamed Lawrenceburg in 1827. James Lawrence, a naval officer, is the namesake.
The city was formally incorporated by the state assembly in 1850.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lawrenceburg. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1924Frankfort sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lawrenceburg.
Every building
Lawrenceburg, building by building, 1891–1903
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The Lawrenceburg post office opened in 1817, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Lawrenceburg rank for history?
Lawrenceburg is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #66 of 142 in Kentucky. 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 Lawrenceburg?
6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the McBrayer-Clark House (listed 1973, the first), 1 historic district, the Lawrenceburg Commercial Historic District, with 45 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 50 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lawrenceburg?
3% of Lawrenceburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1990.
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 the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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