Small Towns of Virginia Series: Lawrenceville

Lawrenceville serves as the seat of government and the agricultural and industrial hub of rural Brunswick County. Though the home of the county courthouse since 1783, the Town of Lawrenceville did not form until 1814 and did not incorporate until 1874.

The Albertis S. Harrison, Jr Courthouse opened in 1999.

It is believed that the town's name came from a racehorse named Lawrence, who was owned by a wealthy landowner who had built a nearby racetrack in the late 1700s. For most of the 1800s, Lawrenceville sat at the intersection of two stagecoach lines. The town would later prosper when the Atlantic and Danville Railroad established its shops here. Today, Downtown Lawrenceville is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

It was in 1888 that a former slave, James Solomon Russell, established what would become known as Saint Paul's College. The historically black institution was affiliated with the Episcopal Church and first focused on teaching and agricultural and industrial careers. By the 1940s, the school began offering four-year degrees and grew to include the liberal arts. Unfortunately, the school closed in 2013, and nearly all of the former 183-acre campus sits abandoned.

A trip to Lawrenceville or Brunswick County would not be complete without some Brunswick Stew. The tomato-based stew that includes beans, vegetables like corn and okra, and typically chicken or even rabbit is a way of life here. The Taste of Brunswick Festival - held every October - has a Brunswick Stew cookoff plus other traditional festival activities.

Site Navigation:

Return to the Small Towns of Virginia Series Index

Sources & Links:

How To Get There:

Comments

The case to move Interstate 73 in Southern Ohio onto US 33

Every decade or so, Ohio pushes to revisit the proposed Interstate 73 that would connect Michigan to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It's been happening since Congress legislated the route in 1991. Within Ohio, Interstate 73 generally follows the US 23 corridor from Portsmouth through Columbus to Toledo, and into Michigan. Since High Priority Corridor Five was created , Ohio has really done nothing to move forward with Interstate 73. Sure, there have been feasibility studies here and there. But actual dollars and construction just haven't occurred. The US 33 Nelsonville Bypass appears to have been built to Interstate standards. However, Ohio has been slowly upgrading US 33 to a full freeway through Southeastern Ohio. Bypasses of Lancaster and Nelsonville opened in 2004 and 2013, respectively. Other sections of two-lane road are being twinned, some to freeway or, at a minimum, to expressway standards. Currently, a $274 million widening project in...

Local Sign Find - The last remnant of Business Interstate 95 between Kenly and Rocky Mount , NC

As you head north on Interstate 95 at Exit 107 for Kenly and US 301, you'll notice something odd about the overhead sign for the exit. Peeling off the sign for all that can see is the word 'NORTH' off-center from the US 301. This old sign (probably close to original from when this section of I-95 opened - more on that in a little bit) gives a hint to a short-lived Business Interstate Route that ran from here to Rocky Mount. The last hint of the Kenly-Wilson-Rocky Mount Business I-95 (Shaun White - August 2020) Interstate 95 in North Carolina has a unique history. But one of the overlooked and forgotten pieces of Interstate 95 in North Carolina is the 38 mile section between Kenly and Rocky Mount. When opened to traffic in late 1978, it was the next to last piece of Interstate 95 in North Carolina to open replacing a four lane US 301 from Battleboro through Rocky Mount and Wilson to eventually tying back into the Interstate in Kenly. Though it was not delayed in l...

Nostalgia fast food with style - Returning to Rax

Nostalgia. It sells. It evokes, and more accurately, warps memories of days gone by. Things were better, simpler, and we eat it up. Nostalgia can make you drive three hours and over a hundred miles out of your way just to reconnect with a dying fast-food restaurant you last enjoyed in the early to mid-90s. That person was me - that restaurant was Rax. I could go on about Rax's history, but in short, Rax was briefly a very popular roast beef fast-food chain. Growing up in the 80s and early 90s in Western PA, Rax was the good fast-food spot. The milkshakes. (Personally, the chocolate chip milkshake was heaven.) Uncle Alligator Kids Meal with the chocolate chip cookie. Take that McDonald's Happy Meal! The fancy salad and hot foods bar. Going to Rax was special. Like so many similar restaurants, various investments, management decisions, etc., led Rax to almost disappear overnight. By the time I graduated college in late 1999, abou...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog