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Lawrence County was created on January 15,
1815, by the Missouri Legislature, which had jurisdiction over the
region until Arkansas became a territory in 1819. The county seat is
Walnut Ridge.
The county was named for Capt. James
Lawrence, a naval officer killed in the War of 1812. The landscape
of Lawrence County is flat-topped rolling hills in the western half
and flat fertile delta river bottomland in the eastern half. The
economy is made up of agriculture, with rice, soybeans, and milo as
leading crops. Cattle, poultry, and light manufacturing also
contribute to the economy. There are three highways that make it
convenient to ship in and out of the county. Three rivers, the
Strawberry, Spring, and Black flow through the county.
The original courthouse was at Powhatan and
was destroyed by fire in 1885. The archives were saved because they
were stored in a stone vault and today they are a part of the
Powhatan State Park Museum’s regional archive. In 1963 the two
districts at Powhatan and Walnut Ridge were consolidated.
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