The historic town of Lexington, South Carolina is a direct descendent of the old Royal township of Saxe Gotha. This township was one of eleven established in 1735 by the Colonial government of King George II to encourage settlement of backcountry South Carolina and serve as a protective buffer between powerful Indian tribes to the west and the older settled plantations of the low country. The name Saxe Gotha was in honor of the marriage of the British Prince of Wales to Princess Augusta of the German State of Saxe Gotha.