<P> Before the beginning of the Civil War, Laurens provided a great deal of political leaders to the state government . The state's decision to secede from the Union was influenced by many of those political leaders . The fighting of the Civil War never neared Laurens . But Laurens was affected by the influx of refugees that fled Charleston to avoid the progressing Union Army and Navy . Several of the refugees settled in Laurens after the Civil War . </P> <P> In the years after the Civil War, Reconstruction, the economy of Laurens evolved to include industry . The recovery of Laurens' economy was dependent upon the creation of the textiles and manufacturing industry after the civil war . In 1895, Lauren Cotton Mill was founded, and Watts Mill was started in 1902 . Laurens Glass Company was established 1910, which was one of the largest glass plants in the southeast for over eighty years . The Laurens Railroad Company was chartered in 1847 . The Columbia - Newberry - Laurens Railroad and the Charleston - Western Carolina Railroad are the two major intersections provided by the railroad . </P> <P> Laurens and Laurens County is part of the Old 96 District, which also includes Abbeville County, Greenwood County, McCormick County, and Edgefield County . </P> <P> The textile, manufacturing, and glass industries were at one point a major source of employment . Although many of the textile plants and the glass production facilities have closed over the last 30 years, a variety of industries exist within the county, including corporations like CeramTec, International Paper, Milliken & Co. and others . Walmart operates a distribution center outside of the city near Interstate 385, which serves as a major employer . The area has seen several recent economic retail developments, and is seeing new capital investment in heavy industry, including a major new transmission production facility for German ZF Group . The unemployment rate, as of February 2012, sat at 9.6% . </P>

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