| The Town of Lee lies in the valley of the Housatonic
River between the Taconic Range and the southernmost extent of the Green
Mountains. It was first settled in 1760, relying on agriculture and lumbering,
and grew quickly enough to be incorporated by 1777. The town took its name
from General Charles Lee, second in command to George Washington.
The community supported some textile manufacturing in the 19th century
but its first paper mill was built by Samuel Church in 1806. As textiles
declined in the town and region, paper-making took its place as the foundation
of the community's economy. By 1857 there were 25 paper mills in Lee producing
$2 million in paper, as well as a set of subsidiary industries producing
lime and paper-making machinery.
In 1852 another major industry was launched in the town, as builders
and architects discovered Lee marble. It is said to be the hardest and
finest marble in the world. Large scale quarrying was carried on in Lee
for such projects as construction of a wing of the Capitol. Almost half
a million cubic feet of marble was quarried and shipped on the Housatonic
Railroad in 1867. About the same time, a new process for making paper
solely from wood pulp was adopted and the poplar forests in the town fueled
a huge leap in paper production, making Smith Paper Company of Lee the
largest paper producer in the world until the forests were depleted.
Lee, divided into three villages, still retains the first house ever
built in town, dated 1760, still hosts a paper company and a lime kiln
and still has many of the farmhouses, estates, business blocks and factories
that exemplify its history. Residents like to believe that history is
still alive and well in Lee.
Lee is located in western Massachusetts, bordered by Tyringham and Great
Barrington on the south, Lenox on the northwest, Becket on the east, Washington
on the northeast, and Stockbridge on the west. Lee is 9 miles south of
Pittsfield, 122 miles west of Boston, and 138 miles from New York City.
Narrative compiled by the Massachusetts Department of Housing
and Community Development.
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