Laurens County obtained most of its territory from Wilkinson County in 1807, but the part east of Dublin, the county seat, had been in Washington County until 1811. The name commemorates Colonel John Laurens of South Carolina, aide-de-camp to General George Washington and son of the president of the Continental Congress. After distinguished service at the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Savannah and Charleston, Laurens was killed in 1782. Dublin takes its name from the city in Ireland. Many of the early settlers had come from Ireland.