LEE COUNTY ALABAMA
LEE COUNTY ALABAMA
Named after Robert E. Lee, commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia and most senior flag officer of the Confedrate Army.
Lee County has a population of 140,000. The county seat is Opelika and the largest city in Lee County is Auburn Alabama.
Lee County Alabama History
Source: Northern Alabama – Historical and Biographical by Smith & De Land, Birmingham, Ala 1888 – Transcribed by Veneta McKinney
Population: White 12,217; colored 15,045. Area 610 square miles. Woodland, all. All metamorphic; but the rocks, over about 250 square miles in the southern part of the county, are covered with stratified drift.
Acres – In cotton (approximately) 51,889; in corn 30,137; in oats 11,918; in wheat 8,697; in rice 10; in tobacco 11; in sugar-cane 208; in sweet potatoes, 925. Approximate number of bales of cotton, 14,189.
County Seat – Opelika; population 4,000; located on the Western Alabama Railroad, at the junction of the Columbus Western & East Alabama Railroad.
Newspapers published at County Seat – Democrat and Republican. At Lively – Saturday Evening News (Democratic).
Post offices in the County – Auburn, Beulah, Gold Hill. Halawaka, Lively, Loachapoka, Mechanicsville, Mott’s Mill, Opelika, Roxana. Salem, Smith Station, Wacoochee, Waverly and Yongesborough.
This county, organized in accordance with an act approved December 15, 1886, was formed from portions of Chambers, Russell, Macon and Tallapoosa Counties, and named in honor of Gen. Robert E. Lee. It is located in a high and healthful section of country in the east-central portion of the State, and is entirely free from malaria. The elevation above sea level ranges from 700 to 850 feet, and the water from wells and springs is exceptionally fine. The surface is undulating, and the entire county is well watered by creeks and smaller streams which never fail. The Chattahoochee River forms the eastern boundary of the county, and is one continuous chain of falls along the entire line, affording rare facilities for manufacturing enterprises. In addition to this fine water, the’-e is not a community in this county that does not already enjoy the advantages of water-power grist and flouring mills.
The county is well timbered, principally with long- and short-leafed pine, though oak, hickory, poplar, ash, maple, walnut, dogwood, the gums and cherry abound.
There are fine deposits of soapstone, granite and lime rock in the county, and attention is now being given to the quarrying of building stone in the western part of the county, while the lime works near Yongesboro are making large quantities of lime for shipments to the markets of this and adjoining States. Considerable excitement has been caused recently by the discovery of large beds of superior soapstone and iron ores in the vicinity of Gold Hill, an extensively prosperous community in the county, ten miles northwest of Opelika on the Columbus it Western Railroad.
Few counties in the State enjoy superior advantages in transportation facilities. Two trunk lines cross the county, while the East Alabama Railroad pours into Opelika almost the entire produce of Chambers and a large amount of that of Randolph County. The model railroad of the south, the Western Railroad of Alabama, crosses the county from west to east, and the Columbus & Western from southeast to northeast, giving the county about seventy-five miles of railway.
Source: Alabama As It Is by Benjamin Franklin Riley, D. D., The Brown Printing Co, State Printers and Binders, 1893 , Transcribed by Veneta McKinney
THIS county was established in 1866, and named for General Robert E. Lee, of Virginia. Highly favored in its location, with respect to the markets and transportation, as well as in regard to healthfulness, generous soils and educational facilities, Lee is a most desirable place of residence. Of these numerous advantages we shall have occasion to speak further on. Let us look somewhat into the internal resources of the county. It has an area of 610 square miles.
Population in 1880, 27,262; population in 1890, 28,694. White, 12,197; colored, 16,497.
Area planted in cotton, 58,447 acres; in corn, 31,112 acres; in oats, 9,638 acres; in wheat, 586 acres; in rye, 80 acres. Cotton Production—18,332 bales.
Lee county is divided into two distinct sections with respect to its topography. In the north the surface is hilly, while in the south it is more level.
The several characters of soils are gray, red and sandy. Perhaps a little more than one-half of the tillable soil of Lee is gray. In other parts there is a distinct predominance of red land, while in others again, there is such a blending of the gray and red soils as to render it impossible to decide which prevails. The gray land is preferred for cotton, while the red lands are devoted, usually, to the grains. Crops grow with great readiness, and the lands are quite productive, especially when aided with fertilizers.
The character of the soils is such, and the undulation of the surface such, too, that farm work may be resumed soon after the heaviest rainfall.
The staple productions of Lee are cotton, corn, wheat, oats, sugar cane and sweet potatoes. The generous yield of the soils, the ease of cultivation, and the accessibility to market, serve as inducements to the planters to raise large quantities of cotton. This is consequently the one ruling staple of the county.
Orchard culture is receiving greater attention with the advance of years.
Special attention has been devoted to the production of peaches and grapes, and with the most gratifying results. Extensive orchards and vineyards are now being planted in some parts of the county. Greater attention is also being given to the production of watermelons, to which the red lands, when fertilized, seem peculiarly adapted. The ready growth of this fruit, and the rapid transit to several markets in higher latitudes, are serving to stimulate producers to turn it to pecuniary advantage.
In Lee county there is an occurrence of white crystalline dolomite. In appearance it resembles white marble, and may be used for hearths, mantels, gravestones and monuments. It produces an excellent lime also. Besides this, there are to be found barytes, flagging stone, soapstone and granite. The forests abound in good timber, including short-leaf pine, the upland oaks, hickory, poplar, ash, maple, dogwood, the gums and cherry.
The streams of the county are the Chattahoochee River, and Wacoochee, Naufaba, Songahatchee, Big Hallewackee, White’s, Wetumpka and Osanippa Creeks. These show a prevalence of water throughout the year. In addition to these, there is the presence of springs in every part of the county, and sometimes there are springs with mineral qualities. Either for plantation or domestic consumption, and for all mechanical purposes there is an abundant water supply. All the streams on the eastern side of the county flow into the Chattahoochee. The western portion is drained by the Tallapoosa.
The transportation facilities of Lee are superior. The Western Railroad of Alabama, the Columbus & Western, and the East Alabama and Cincinnati Railroads run through different portions of the county.
Conspicuous among its industries are the Chewacla Limeworks, near Toungsboro, on the Columbus & Western Railroad. The lime from these works is marketed through the several States of Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. There is also a carriage and wagon factory at Opelika, besides other minor mechanical industries.
The prominent points are Opelika, the county seat, having a population of 3,500, Auburn, Salem and Brownville.
The educational advantages of the county are superior. Opelika has two schools of a high order, both for male and female. Auburn is the seat of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of the State, and good common schools exist throughout the county.
Good lands can be purchased in the county from prices ranging from $3 to $15 per acre.
Purchasers of lands and seekers of homes would be accorded every consideration of Lee.
The county has no government lands.
Source: Northern Alabama – Historical and Biographical by Smith & De Land, Birmingham, Ala 1888
Population: White 12,217; colored 15,045. Area 610 square miles. Woodland, all. All metamorphic; but the rocks, over about 250 square miles in the southern part of the county, are covered with stratified drift.
Acres – In cotton (approximately) 51,889; in corn 30,137; in oats 11,918; in wheat 8,697; in rice 10; in tobacco 11; in sugar-cane 208; in sweet potatoes, 925. Approximate number of bales of cotton, 14,189.
County Seat – Opelika; population 4,000; located on the Western Alabama Railroad, at the junction of the Columbus Western & East Alabama Railroad.
Newspapers published at County Seat – Democrat and Republican. At Lively – Saturday Evening News (Democratic).
Post offices in the County – Auburn, Beulah, Gold Hill. Halawaka, Lively, Loachapoka, Mechanicsville, Mott’s Mill, Opelika, Roxana. Salem, Smith Station, Wacoochee, Waverly and Yongesborough.
This county, organized in accordance with an act approved December 15, 1886, was formed from portions of Chambers, Russell, Macon and Tallapoosa Counties, and named in honor of Gen. Robert E. Lee. It is located in a high and healthful section of country in the east-central portion of the State, and is entirely free from malaria. The elevation above sea level ranges from 700 to 850 feet, and the water from wells and springs is exceptionally fine. The surface is undulating, and the entire county is well watered by creeks and smaller streams which never fail. The Chattahoochee River forms the eastern boundary of the county, and is one continuous chain of falls along the entire line, affording rare facilities for manufacturing enterprises. In addition to this fine water, the’-e is not a community in this county that does not already enjoy the advantages of water-power grist and flouring mills.
The county is well timbered, principally with long- and short-leafed pine, though oak, hickory, poplar, ash, maple, walnut, dogwood, the gums and cherry abound.
There are fine deposits of soapstone, granite and lime rock in the county, and attention is now being given to the quarrying of building stone in the western part of the county, while the lime works near Yongesboro are making large quantities of lime for shipments to the markets of this and adjoining States. Considerable excitement has been caused recently by the discovery of large beds of superior soapstone and iron ores in the vicinity of Gold Hill, an extensively prosperous community in the county, ten miles northwest of Opelika on the Columbus it Western Railroad.
Few counties in the State enjoy superior advantages in transportation facilities. Two trunk lines cross the county, while the East Alabama Railroad pours into Opelika almost the entire produce of Chambers and a large amount of that of Randolph County. The model railroad of the south, the Western Railroad of Alabama, crosses the county from west to east, and the Columbus & Western from southeast to northeast, giving the county about seventy-five miles of railway.
Lee County Alabama Cities:
Auburn Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2018 population of 65,738. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. Auburn is the home of Auburn University and is one of the fastest growing cities in Alabama.
Opelika Alabama
Opelika is a city in and the county seat of Lee County in the east central part of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of Opelika was 26,401, and in 2018 the estimated population was 30,555.
Phenix City Alabama
Phenix City is a city in Lee and Russell counties and the county seat of Russell County. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 32,822. Phenix City lies immediately west across the Chattahoochee River from much larger Columbus, Georgia. Sometimes called Hub City, Most of Phenix City is included in the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area, but a section is located in Lee County, and is therefore in the Auburn, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The entire city is part of the Columbus-Auburn-Opelika Combined Statistical Area.
Smiths Station Alabama
Smiths Station is a city in Lee County. At the time of the 2000 census, it was a census-designated place (CDP), and its population was 21,756. The area that incorporated as Smiths Station in 2001 was much smaller than the CDP, and contained a population of 4,926 by the 2010 census. Smiths Station, known to locals as “Smiths”, is a bedroom community of Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama.
Lee County Alabama Towns:
Loachapoka Alabama
Loachapoka is a town in Lee County located less than 1/2 mile west of Auburn and approximately 5 miles west of Auburn University. The population was 180 as of the 2010 census.
The name “Loachapoka” means “turtle killing place” in Muskogee, with locha meaning “turtle” and poga meaning “killing place.”
Loachapoka Alabama History
Notasulga Alabama
Located in east central Alabama, Notasulga is centrally located between Montgomery, 44 miles to the west, and Columbus, Georgia, 46 miles to the east. Notasulga is strategically located near several major highways. Alabama Highways 14 and 81 travel through the town limits, as does a railway for CSX Transportation. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 965, up from 916 in 2000.
Fax: 334-257-4645
Waverly Alabama
Waverly is a town in Chambers and Lee counties. It was incorporated in 1910. As of 2010, the town population was 145. Waverly was settled in the 1830s, but saw little growth until the 1870s. The name of Waverly, Alabama first appeared on Alabama maps in 1853. It was given the nickname, Pea Ridge, but this was never its official name.
Waverly Alabama Annual Town Bar-B-Q
Beginning October 1990, and the second Saturday of each October since, the Town of Waverly hosts the Annual Waverly BBQ. Both pork and chicken BBQ, home made cakes and other sweets, cols, ice tea and lemonade are served. Town members all pitch in cooking, preparing the food,’stirring’ the stew pot (a local tradition), and smoking the BBQ with hickory wood from the Friday night prior to the ‘BBQ Day’ at approximately 5:00pm, and continue this tradition until all the BBQ and stew is sold. Food is served to all attendees from 10:00am until 3:00pm. The event hosts singers, dancers, artists, arts and crafts, petting zoos, and other such events. This town get together serves as one of Waverly’s largest fundraising events.
Lee County Alabama Communities:
Beauregard Alabama
Beauregard is an unincorporated community located in central Lee County. It is located east of Auburn and south of Opelika. Beauregard was settled in the late 19th Century and was named for Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. There are also some unidentified ruins along Road 166 that sit behind the limestone quarry.
Beulah Alabama
Beulah is an unincorporated community in the northeast corner of Lee County just south of Valley Alabama. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Area. It is bounded by Chambers County on the north, the Chattahoochee River on the east, and the Halawaka Embayment of Lake Harding on the south.
Gold Hill Alabama
Gold Hill, also known as Goldhill, Gold Mine, or Gold Ridge, is an unincorporated community north-centrally located in Lee County just a few hundred feet south of the Chambers County line. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Area. Today, Gold Hill lies mostly in the corporate limits of Auburn.
Marvyn Alabama
Marvyn, also spelled Marvin, is an unincorporated community southerly located in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It sits at the crossroads of Alabama Highway 51 and U.S. Highway 80, and in the Lee County “panhandle” between Russell County and Macon County. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Area.
Roxana Alabama
Roxana, also known as Rock Springs, is an unincorporated community northwesterly located in Lee County. It lies seven miles (12 km) north of Notasulga and five miles (8 km) southwest of Waverly. It is part of the Columbus, Georgia-Alabama Metropolitan Area.
Salem Alabama
Salem Alabama is an unincorporated community east-centrally located in Lee County. It lies along U.S. Route 280 and U.S. Route 431 between Opelika and Phenix City.
Salem was first settled in 1835, and grew rapidly for the next two decades. Salem incorporated in 1846 and quickly became one of the area’s largest cities. However, a fire which engulfed the town in 1854 and the subsequent Civil War resulted in the collapse of the town’s government, and rapid depopulation. Salem lost a bid to be the county seat of the newly formed Lee County in 1865, and then saw its charter become inactive in the following decades. Today, Salem is a small unincorporated community of a few hundred.
Source: Wikipedia contributors, “Salem, Alabama,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Sights in Lee County Alabama
Lee County Alabama Ghost Towns:
Andrews Alabama
Latitude N32 41.939′ Longitude W85 20.830′
32°41’56.3″N 85°20’49.8″W
32.698983, -85.347167
Chewacla Alabama
Latitude N32 37.208′ Longitude W85 20.229′
32°37’12.5″N 85°20’13.7″W
32.620133, -85.337150
Salem Alabama
Latitude N32 35.905′ Longitude W85 14.499′
32°35’54.3″N 85°14’29.9″W
32.598417, -85.241650
Wacoochee Valley Alabama
Latitude N32 37.779′ Longitude W85 08.293′
32°37’46.7″N 85°08’17.6″W
32.629650, -85.138217
Lee County Alabama Historic Destinations
Pebble Hill (Scott-Yarbrough House) – Auburn Alabama
Toomer’s Corner – Auburn Alabam
Lee County Historical Society Museum – Loachapoka Alabama
Museum of East Alabama – Opelika Alabama
Lee County Alabama Weblinks
Lee County Alabama is home to Chewacla State Park, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Bean’s Mill, the Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge and the Grand National Golf course which is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
Native American History of Lee County, Alabama