Distinguished as one of Long Island's showcase communities, Lawrence is further recognized as the most heavily populated of the six villages in the Five Towns area. The community has remained a bastion of architectural elegance since its founding in the late 1800s. Lawrence is justly proud of its outstanding 18-hole golf course, ranking among the finest village-owned courses in New York. The sprawling Rockaway Hunting Club has been an icon for wealthy families who have enjoyed fox hunts, steeplechases, polo, golf, tennis, and skeet shooting over the past 120 years. The list of Lawrence residents reads like a "Who's Who" of American prestige and affluence. Rock Hall, a splendid 1767 Georgian mansion originally built as a plantation, serves as a Hempstead Town museum in the heart of the village.