Editing Lawrence County, Arkansas (section)

==History==
Following the [[Louisiana Purchase]], the area currently encompassing Lawrence County was contained within the [[Louisiana Territory]] from 1805 to 1812, and the [[Missouri Territory]] from 1812 until the creation of [[Arkansas Territory]] in 1819. While the southern portion of Missouri Territory began to be settled, Lawrence County was created on January 15, 1815, from [[New Madrid County, Missouri|New Madrid County]] and [[Arkansas County, Arkansas|Arkansas County]]. The large area spanned from [[Cape Girardeau County, Missouri|Cape Girardeau County]] to the [[Arkansas River]].<ref>{{ cite book |author= Lawrence County Historical Society |title=Mother of counties : Lawrence County, Arkansas : history and families |year=2001 |location= Paducah, Kentucky |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |isbn=9781563117534 |lccn=2001091090 }}</ref>