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History · Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville’s post office opened in 1826, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 427 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.

1826first post office
3on the National Register
36%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
9famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lawrenceville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lawrenceville began

When was Lawrenceville founded?

1826

The Lawrenceville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 238 in 18802020 census: 1,014200 years
Founding year: the first Lawrenceville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lawrenceville’s past

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

A historic districtThe Lawrenceville Historic District takes in 423 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,239 in 1950; 1,014 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1907 to 1920, drew every building in Lawrenceville.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 430 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
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
430
each building in a district counts
first listed
1974
Brunswick County Courthouse Square
Brunswick County Courthouse SquareSt. Paul's College, built 1888Lawrenceville Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Gothic Revival2
Greek Revival1
Gothic1
Italianate1
Second Empire1
Queen Anne1
Brunswick County Courthouse SquareDistrict
St. Paul's CollegeGothic Revival · Built 1888
Lawrenceville Historic DistrictGreek Revival

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

Help out

Start Lawrenceville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGholson Bridge, Spanning Meherrin River…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Lawrenceville, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,239

Peaked at 2,239 in 1950; 1,014 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story so far

Lawrenceville, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lawrenceville yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lawrenceville is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,014. Located by the Meherrin River, it is the county seat of Brunswick County. In colonial times, Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood had a stockade built nearby, called Fort Christanna, where converted Native American allies were housed and educated. Saint Paul's College, a historically black college affiliated with the Episcopal Church, was founded here in 1888. It operated until 2013. Lumber, tobacco, livestock, and other farm products are grown in the area. In a county along the southern border of the state, the town is near the northernmost area for cotton growing.

Its first post office opened in 1826. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,438 to 1,014 (-29%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Lawrenceville, 1797 to 1950

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797Born hereGeorge Dromgoole is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1826Post officeThe Lawrenceville post office opens
  5. 1850Born hereRobert Turnbull is born here
  6. 1885Born hereEdna Thomas is born here
  7. 1888BuiltSt. Paul's College is built
  8. 20th century
  9. 1911Born hereHelen G. Edmonds is born here
  10. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 2,239
By decade

Lawrenceville, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Gholson Bridge, Spanning Meherrin River at VA State Route 715Date?Gholson Bridge, Spanning Meherrin River at VA State R…
Today9 recent
Untitled photo2019Untitled photoNorth Main Street at night2017North Main Street at night2017-06-26 15 43 28 View east along U.S. Route 58 Business and south along Virginia State Route 46 Truck (Main Street) …20172017-06-26 15 43 28 View east along U.S. Route 58 Bus…Lawrenceville, VA2007Lawrenceville, VALawrenceville United Methodist Church2007Lawrenceville United Methodist ChurchLAWRENCEVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT, BRUNSWICK COUNTY, VA2007LAWRENCEVILLE HISTORIC DISTRICT, BRUNSWICK COUNTY, VAFORT CHRISTANNA, BRUNSWICK COUNTY, VA2007FORT CHRISTANNA, BRUNSWICK COUNTY, VAVAMap-doton-Lawrenceville2005VAMap-doton-LawrencevilleBrunswick County Courthouse, Lawrenceville, (Brunswick County, Virginia)2002Brunswick County Courthouse, Lawrenceville, (Brunswic…
On the map

Lawrenceville on the map, 1918 to 1997

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

Lawrenceville on the 1918 USGS mapLawrenceville on the 1921 USGS mapLawrenceville on the 1963 USGS mapLawrenceville on the 1973 USGS mapLawrenceville on the 1997 USGS map1918Lawrenceville 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 Lawrenceville.

Every building

Lawrenceville, building by building, 1907–1920

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.

Lawrenceville fire insurance map, 1907, sheet 11907Sheet 1 of 4
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Gholson Bridge, Spanning Meherrin River at VA State Route 715
Retake this viewGholson Bridge, Spanning Meherrin River at VA State Route 715

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lawrenceville’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

9 famous people were born in Lawrenceville

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Edna ThomasAmerican actress · b. 1885
George DromgooleAmerican politician · b. 1797
H
Helen G. EdmondsAmerican historian, scholar, and civic leader · b. 1911
Robert TurnbullAmerican politician · b. 1850
Jim MalloryAmerican baseball player · b. 1918
John L. Whitehead Jr.US Air Force officer, test pilot · b. 1924
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Lawrenceville’s post office has been open since 1826.

Gone or out of use
Lawrenceville High SchoolschoolLetcher Memorial HospitalhospitalUnion African Methodist Episcopal Zion Churchchurch
1cemetery inside Lawrenceville
Oakwood

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

Questions about Lawrenceville’s history

What year was Lawrenceville founded?

The Lawrenceville post office opened in 1826, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lawrenceville?

Three places: the Brunswick County Courthouse Square (listed 1974), the St. Paul's College (1979) and the Lawrenceville Historic District (2000).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.