Historical Marker

County Named, 1821


For Capt. James Lawrence, whose charge, "Don't give up the ship," when mortally wounded in battle between USS CHESAPEAKE and HMS SHANNON off Boston, June 1, 1813, met highest traditions of US Navy and has inspired all Americans. Buried with honor by British in Halifax; reinterred at Trinity Church, New York. Lawrence County was formed from Greenup and Floyd.

The first successful gold rush in the United States occurred in 1806 in Kentucky. The gold was found in the sand and gravel of the Ohio River and its tributaries.