Fort Lawrence stood in present Taylor County near this site, about 35 miles west of the Flint River opposite Francisville and the Benjamin Hawkins' Creek Indian Agency east of the river. It was one of several fortified posts built along a military road through Creek Indian territory, a road created from the old Federal Road postal route linking Washington, DC and New Orleans, Louisiana and expanded for military transport in 1811. In response to the Creek Nation Civil War of 1813-1814, General John Floyd, commander of Georgia troops, constructed the forts. Fort Lawrence was enclosed by a stockade wall 13 feet high, 80 yards wide, and 80 yards long, and two blockhouses at opposite corners defended it. It served as a major supply point and final staging area for troops heading west to fight hostile Creek groups called Red Sticks. The Marquis de Lafayette traveled the Old Federal Road on March 29, 1825, and passed the night at the Creek Indian Agency. In 1843, the first telegraph line in Georgia was erected along a segment of the Old Federal Road, which later became known as the Wire Road.