Burlington, OH

Burlington sits on the Ohio River in southern Lawrence County, connected across the West Huntington Bridge to Huntington, West Virginia. It was the county's first seat when Lawrence County organized in 1817, and the courthouse, jail, post office, and early newspaper all put county business on this river landing. The Lawrence County Gazette, established in Burlington in 1845, was the first newspaper published along the river between Portsmouth and Gallipolis.

Today Burlington's story is still easiest to follow through the river and its old civic buildings. The Johnston House and General Store and the Old Lawrence County Jail are listed on the National Register, and Burlington Elementary belongs to the South Point Local School District. The Burlington Cemetery also preserves a 1930s record of local residents who contributed to its upkeep. Routes and the bridge tie the community to the Huntington-Ashland area, while the old county-seat sites show why this small river place once carried so much of Lawrence County's business.