Lee County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,285. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Sanford. It was established on March 6, 1907, from parts of

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

and Moore counties, and named for

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Robert E. Lee, who served as the

General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States The General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States, or simply General in Chief, was the commanding general and head of the Confederate States Army (CSA) from February to April 1865. The office was effectively abolished on April 9, 1865 ...

in 1865. Lee County comprises the Sanford Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the Fayetteville Combined Statistical Area, also known as the Fayetteville area, which had a 2019 estimated population of 854,826. Lee County's motto is "Committed Today for a Better Tomorrow".

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water.

State and local protected areas/sites

* Buckhorn Dam * White Pines Nature Preserve (part)

Major water bodies

Big Governors Creek Big Governors Creek is a long 3rd order tributary to the Deep River in Lee and Moore Counties, North Carolina. This creek forms the Lee-Moore county line, in part and is the only stream of this name in the United States. Variant names Accordi ...

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

* Cypress Creek * Deep River *

Juniper Creek (Cape Fear River tributary) Juniper Creek is a long 3rd order tributary to the Cape Fear River in Harnett County, North Carolina. Variant names According to the Geographic Names Information System, it has also been known historically as: *Stuart Creek Course Juniper Cre ...

* Lake Trace * Lake Villanow * Lick Creek *

Little Buffalo Creek (Deep River tributary) Little Buffalo Creek is a long 2nd order tributary to the Deep River in Lee County, North Carolina. Course Little Buffalo Creek rises in Sanford, North Carolina and then flows north to the Deep River about 2 miles east-northeast of Farmville, ...

* Little Governors Creek * Little Pocket Creek *

Pocket Creek (Deep River tributary) Pocket Creek is a long 3rd order tributary to the Deep River in Lee County, North Carolina. The longest covered bridge (Gilliam Park Covered Bridge) in North Carolina crosses this creek. Course Pocket Creek rises in a pond in White Hill, Nort ...

* Roberts Creek

Adjacent counties

* Chatham County - north * Harnett County - southeast * Moore County - southwest

Major highways

* (Concurrency with US 421) * * * * * * * * *

Major infrastructure

Raleigh Executive Jetport Raleigh Exec: The Raleigh Executive Jetport or Raleigh Exec Jetport at Sanford-Lee County is a public use airport located seven nautical miles (8 mi, 13 km) northeast of the central business district of Sanford, a city in Lee ...

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 63,285 people, 21,894 households, and 15,223 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 49,040 people, 18,466 households, and 13,369 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 191 people per square mile (74/km²). There were 19,909 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile (30/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.03%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 20.46%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.42% Native American, 0.67%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 7.33% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.06% from two or more races. 11.65% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. By 2005 14.2% of the County population was Latino. 20.2% of the population was African-American. 64.2% of the population was non-Hispanic whites. In 2000 there were 18,466 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were married couples living together, 13.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.60% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.05. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,900, and the median income for a family was $45,373. Males had a median income of $32,780 versus $23,660 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $19,147. About 9.80% of families and 12.80% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 16.50% of those under age 18 and 12.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Lee is a typical "Solid South" county in terms of voting patterns. From its first election in 1908 it voted Democratic by large margins until 1968, except in the 1928 election when anti-

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

Catholic Al Smith held the county by single digits. In 1968, Lee's Democratic streak was broken when its electorate chose the American Independent candidate George Wallace. From 1972 onwards, Lee has voted Republican in every election except for

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

's two elections in 1976 and 1980. Lee County is a member of the regional Triangle J Council of Governments. The county is governed by a seven-member board of County Commissioners, elected at large to serve four-year terms. Terms are staggered so that, every two years, three or four Commissioners are up for election. The Commissioners enact policies such as establishment of the property tax rate, regulation of land use and zoning outside municipal jurisdictions, and adoption of the annual budget. Commissioners usually meet on the first and third Mondays of each month.

Communities

City

* Sanford (county seat and largest city)

Town

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

Unincorporated communities

* Blacknel * Colon *

Cumnock Cumnock (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cumnag'') is a town and former civil parish located in East Ayrshire, Scotland. The town sits at the confluence of the Glaisnock Water and the Lugar Water. There are three neighbouring housing projects which lie just ...

* Lemon Springs * Murchisontown * Osgood * Pocket * Swann Station * Tramway * White Hill

Townships

The county is divided into seven

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, which are both numbered and named: * 1 (Greenwood) * 2 (Jonesboro) * 3 (Cape Fear) * 4 (Deep River) * 5 (East Sanford) * 6 (West Sanford) * 7 (Pocket)

Trivia

* The area has historically been one of the leading brick manufacturing areas in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. *

Cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

are leading crops in the county. * The county is divided between the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

in the northern part of the county and the Sandhills in the south. * Lee County sits in the middle of the Triassic Basin and has the state's most concentrated reserves of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

. * Lee County is also home to the longest covered bridge in North Carolina found along NC-42 near Ole Gilliam Mill Park.The Longest Covered Bridge In North Carolina, At Ole Gilliam Mill Park, Is 140 Feet Long https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/north-carolina/ole-gilliam-mill-park-covered-bridge-sanford-nc/amp/

References

External links

; Official * ; General information
NCGenWeb Lee County
- free genealogy resources for the county
{{coord, 35.48, -79.17, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-NC_source:UScensus1990 Lee County

Lee County, North Carolina Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 63,285. The county seat is Sanford. It was established on March 6, 1907, from parts of Chatham and Moore counties, and named for ...