Lee County, North Carolina
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 19 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1973. Most listings are in or near Sanford, Cumnock, Haywood.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for North Carolina is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Lee titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP7 of 19 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
19 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Cemeteries | Sanford | 1999 |
| Downtown Sanford Historic District (Additional Documentation) | Sanford | 1985 |
| Downtown Sanford Historic District (Boundary Increase and Decrease) | Sanford | 2021 |
| East Sanford Historic District | Sanford | 2010 |
| Endor Iron Furnace | Cumnock | 1974 |
| Euphronia Presbyterian Church | Sanford | 1994 |
| Farish-Lambeth House | Sanford | 2002 |
| Farrar, Obediah, House | Haywood | 1993 |
| Hawkins Avenue Historic District | Sanford | 2000 |
| Lee Avenue Historic District | Sanford | 2002 |
| Lee County Courthouse | Sanford | 1979 |
| Lee County Training School | Sanford | 2000 |
| McIver, John D., Farm | Sanford | 1993 |
| Railroad House | Sanford | 1973 |
| Rosemount-McIver Park Historic District | Sanford | 1997 |
| Sanford High School, Former | Sanford | 1995 |
| Sanford Tobacco Company Redrying Plant and Warehouse | Sanford | 2019 |
| Seaboard Milling Company | Sanford | 2002 |
| Temple Theatre | Sanford | 1983 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBLee was formed in 1907 (1907-07-02) from Chatham, Moore.
LEE created from CHATHAM and MOORE.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusLee County population from 1910 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1910 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11,376 | 13,400 | 18,743 | 23,522 | 26,561 | 36,718 | 49,040 | 63,285 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS7 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 7 of 7 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Buffalo - Jonesboro Cemetery |
| Cool Springs Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Grace Chapel Church Cemetery |
| Johnson Cemetery |
| Lee Memory Gardens Cemetery |
| McQueen Cemetery |
| Pierce Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Lee County, North Carolina
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.