The area in which Lewisburg and Marshall County is located was first settled by Revolutionary War veterans given land grants by the State of North Carolina for services rendered during the war.

Marshall County, named in honor of the young nation's strong first Supreme Court Chief Justice and noted American jurist, John Marshall, was established by an act of the Tennessee General Assembly in 1836. The act which created the county specified that the county seat be named Lewisburg to commemorate the deeds of frontier explorer Meriweather Lewis. Lewisburg was incorporated in 1837, on a site of 50 acres donated for civic purpose.

Until 1925, the community served the area principally as a trading and shipping center for its livestock and farm produce.

Marshall County is significant partly because of three Marshall Countians who have served as Governor of Tennessee: Henry Horton, Jim Nance McCord, and Buford Ellington.

Today, modern Lewisburg/Marshall County is the home of several nationally known industries and the World Headquarters of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association.