 Lawrence Township was founded in 1697 and was known as
Maidenhead, named by the early Quaker settlers after a Thames River village later
incorporated into the City of London. Originally Maidenhead was part of Burlington County
and the state of West Jersey. In 1714, the Township became part of the newly-constituted
Hunterdon County. The
Township was legally incorporated through an act of the State legislature in 1798. In
1816, the municipality was renamed Lawrence, after Captain James Lawrence, commander of
the frigate Chesapeake and one of the naval heroes of the War of 1812. In 1838, Mercer
County was formed from parts of Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Burlington Counties. The
Township's boundaries and geographic relationships have remained the same since that time.
Info: Courtesy of the Lawrence Township Home Page |
