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==History== Lawrenceville was incorporated by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 15, 1821. This makes Lawrenceville the second oldest city in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The city is named after Commodore [[James Lawrence]], commander of the frigate ''[[USS Chesapeake (1799)|Chesapeake]]'' during the [[War of 1812]]. Lawrence, a native of [[New Jersey]], is probably best known today for his dying command, "Don't give up the ship!"<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/l.pdf |title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins |publisher=Winship Press |author=Krakow, Kenneth K. |year=1975 |location=Macon, GA |pages=130 |isbn=0-915430-00-2 |access-date=February 26, 2019 |archive-date=March 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311021359/http://kenkrakow.com/gpn/l.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> William Maltbie, the town's first postmaster, suggested the name of "Lawrenceville." In 1821, a permanent site for the county courthouse was selected and purchased, the four streets bordering the square were laid out along with other streets in the village, and a public well was dug. Major Grace built the first permanent courthouse, a brick structure, in 1823β24 for a cost of $4,000. The courthouse presently on the square was constructed in 1885.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Most of Lawrenceville's residents farmed cotton.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lawrencevillega.org/245/History-of-Lawrenceville | title=History of Lawrenceville | Lawrenceville, GA }}</ref> During the tumultuous era of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], [[Gwinnett County, Georgia|Gwinnett County]] stood as a notable exception, casting its vote against secession. At the heart of this dissent was Lawrenceville, the county seat, which dispatched three delegates to represent its staunch opposition to secession. This resistance stemmed partly from the county's unique demographic makeup, characterized by a relatively low slave population, where the ratio of whites to slaves stood at 4 to 1. Despite its initial reluctance to join the secessionist cause, Lawrenceville found itself drawn into the conflict as it rallied to support the [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] war effort. The bustling town was home to the Lawrenceville Manufacturing Company, a prominent cotton mill established in the 1850s. This mill played a vital role in producing essential textile goods, including uniforms, to supply the [[Confederate States Army|Confederate army]]. While Lawrenceville itself remained untouched by the direct clashes of battle, it was not spared the ravages of war. The infamous [[Sherman's March to the Sea|March to the Sea]] led by [[William Tecumseh Sherman|General Sherman]] brought the conflict to its doorstep. The town became a target for frequent raids by Union forces, disrupting daily life and instilling fear among its inhabitants. One of the most devastating blows came when [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] soldiers set fire to the Lawrenceville Manufacturing Company, dealing a severe blow to the city's commercial infrastructure. This act of destruction not only symbolized the toll of war on the town's economy but also underscored the intense division and strife tearing through the nation during this tumultuous period. By the end of the war, half of the wealth of Lawrenceville was lost by the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Flanigan|first=James|title=History of Gwinnett County, Georgia|publisher=Gwinnett Historical Society|pages=246β251}}</ref> [[Courtland Winn]] served two terms as mayor starting in 1884 when he was 21 years old.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} The two most famous people born in Lawrenceville gained their fame elsewhere. [[Charles Henry Smith]], born in 1826, left as a young man and lived most of his life in other Georgia towns. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] he wrote humorous pieces for Atlanta newspapers under the name Bill Arp. He has been described as the South's most popular writer of the late 19th century, though he is not much read today. [[Ezzard Charles]], born in 1921, grew up in [[Cincinnati]], where opportunities for African-Americans were far better at the time than in the Deep South. He eventually became the World Heavyweight boxing champion by defeating [[Joe Louis]] by unanimous decision on September 27, 1950.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} Lawrenceville was one of many venues in the nation where ''[[Hustler (magazine)|Hustler]]'' magazine publisher [[Larry Flynt]] faced obscenity charges in the late 1970s. On March 6, 1978, during a lunch break in his Lawrenceville trial, he and his local attorney Gene Reeves were shot by a sniper near the courthouse. Both survived, though Flynt was seriously disabled. Years later, imprisoned serial killer [[Joseph Paul Franklin]] claimed to have been the shooter, but he never produced any proof and was not charged in the case. (Franklin was executed in 2013 in Missouri for a 1977 sniper slaying.) A heavily fictionalized treatment of the Flynt shooting can be seen in the 1996 movie ''[[The People vs. Larry Flynt]]''.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} The [[Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center]] was built in 1988 at a cost of $72 million to replace the original [[Gwinnett County Courthouse]], which had been built in 1872 shortly after the [[American Civil War]]. Since 1988, Lawrenceville has been the headquarters of the [[Presbyterian Church in America]].<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Presbyterian Church in America |url=https://pcanet.org/about-the-pca-2-3/ |website=Presbyterian Church in America |access-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-date=June 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626021405/https://pcanet.org/about-the-pca-2-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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