Lee County, Mississippi

Lee County Education, Geography, and History

Lee is a county in Mississippi. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 82,910. The county seat is Tupelo. Lee County is included in the Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Lee County Name

Lee is named for Confederate American Civil War general Robert E. Lee.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Lee County History

Lee County, taken from the eastern part of Pontotoc County and the western part of Itawamba County, was established on December 10, 1866, pursuant to an enabling act of October 26, 1866, which provided that the question of "county" or "no county" was to be submitted to the voters living within the boundaries of the proposed new county at an election to be held on twenty days' notice after the assembling of the commissioners on November 12, 1866. The act, by its terms, was to be inoperative until it had been determined that the vote was in favor of the creation of the new county. The election was held on December 10, 1866; presuming that the result of the election was declared on the same day, this was the effective date of the creation of Lee County.

E.G. Thomas, C.A. Marshall, Jesse Hunt, James R. Harrali, Burrell Jackson, W.H. Calhoun and Jacob Bardin were appointed commissioners to organize the new county by the original act, and the first courts were directed to be held at Saltillo, pending the selection of a permanent seat of justice at a special election, when Tupelo was chosen April 15, 1867.

The old brick court house, erected in 1871, at a cost of $25,000, was burned in 1873. It was replaced by a brick structure which was also destroyed by fire in 1904. The present court house was erected at a cost of $60,000. The largest town is Tupelo, the county seat

The Courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1873 and 1904

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 453 square miles (1,174 km²), of which, 450 square miles (1,164 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km²) of it (0.78%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Prentiss County (north)
• Itawamba County (east)
• Monroe County (southeast)
• Chickasaw County (southwest)
• Pontotoc County (west)
• Union County (northwest)

Education

Lee county is served by the Lee County School District.

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