Lee County, Virginia

Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville.

History
The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Archaic Native American populations. The first known Europeans to enter what is present-day Lee County were a party of Spanish explorers, Juan de Villalobos and Francisco de Silvera, sent by Hernando de Soto in 1540, in search of gold. The county was formed after the American Revolutionary War in 1792 from Russell County. It was named for Light Horse Harry Lee, the Governor of Virginia from 1791 to 1794, who was famous for his exploits as a leader of light cavalry during the war. He was the father of Robert E. Lee, later a West Point graduate and career US Army officer who became the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

Lee County was the final front on the Kentucky Trace, now known as the Wilderness Road and The Trail of the Lonesome Pine. During the 1780s and 1790s, fortified buildings called "stations" were built along the trail for shelter from Indian raids as the settlers followed Daniel Boone's path into the Kentucky frontier. The stations in Lee County were Yoakum Station at present-day Dryden, west to Powell River and Station Creek at today's Rocky Station, then to Mump's Fort at Jonesville, followed by Prist Station, Martin's Station at Rose Hill, Chadwell Station at Chadwell Gap, Owen Station at Ewing, and finally Gibson Station, which still bears its original name. One of the largest early landowners was Revolutionary War officer and explorer Joseph Martin, after whom Martin's Station and Martin's Creek at Rose Hill are named. Due to his rank of command, Martin had been awarded some 25000 acre in a land grant after the war. He divided the land and sold it as a speculator. Rose Hill was established in 1832 as the first federally recognized post office in Lee County. In 1814, parts of Lee, Russell, and Washington counties were combined to form Scott County. In 1856, parts of Lee, Russell, and Scott counties were combined to form Wise County, named after the last governor of Virginia before the Civil War.

Economy
The economy of Lee County has been based largely on growing tobacco and mining coal. The decline of both has resulted in high unemployment in the county and a decrease in population since 1940, which was the peak. Using the slogan Where Virginia Begins, the county has attempted to increase its heritage tourism industry by emphasizing its role in the route used by settlers going west through the Cumberland Gap, at Lee County's western tip. Lee County shares Cumberland Gap National Historical Park with Kentucky and Tennessee. Attractions listed in the park include Hensley's Settlement, the Pinnacle Overlook, the Sand Cave, and the White Rocks overlooking the towns of Ewing and Rose Hill in Virginia. Lee County is a dry county for hard liquor, although retail sales are permitted.

Geography


According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 437 sqmi, of which 436 sqmi is land and 1.9 sqmi (0.4%) is water. Lee County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

All of Lee County lies longitudinally west of West Virginia. The entirety of Lee County is physically closer to eight state capitals other than its own capital in Richmond: Raleigh, North Carolina; Columbia, South Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Nashville, Tennessee; Charleston, West Virginia; Frankfort, Kentucky; Columbus, Ohio; and Indianapolis, Indiana. Additionally, the far western part of Lee County–including Wheeler and the Cumberland Gap, roughly 350 mi from Richmond–is closer to Montgomery, Alabama, a ninth state capital.

The county contains karst, a type of topography, within an area of Ordovician limestone called "the Cedars." The Powell River flows through Lee County on its way to Tennessee.

Districts
The county is divided into seven districts: Jonesville, Rocky Station, Rocky Station Mineral, Rose Hill, White Shoals, Yoakum, and Yoakum Mineral. There are two towns: Pennington Gap, and Jonesville.

Adjacent counties

 * Wise County, Virginia – northeast
 * Scott County, Virginia – east
 * Hancock County, Tennessee – south
 * Claiborne County, Tennessee – south-southwest
 * Bell County, Kentucky – west
 * Harlan County, Kentucky – northwest

National protected areas

 * Cumberland Gap National Historical Park (part)
 * Jefferson National Forest (part)

State protected areas

 * The Cedars Natural Area Preserve

2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 25,587 people living in the county. 94.2% were White, 3.7% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.6% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 1.6% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

According to the census 2009 estimates, there were 25,001 people, 11,587 households, and 6,852 families living in the county. The population density was 54 /mi2. There were 11,587 housing units at an average density of 25 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 96.3% White, 2.9% Black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, 0.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The largest ancestry groups in Lee County include: English (14 percent), Irish (11 percent), German (9 percent), and Scottish-Irish (3 percent).

There were 9,706 households, out of which 29.0 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0 percent were married couples living together, 11.7 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4 percent were non-families. 27.0 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.8 percent under the age of 18, 8.0 percent from 18 to 24, 27.5 percent from 25 to 44, 26.3 percent from 45 to 64, and 15.4 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,889, and the median income for a family was $40,721. The per capita income for the county was $16,317. About 20.3 percent of families and 22.7 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.1 percent of those under age 18 and 23.3 percent of those age 65 or over.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) is currently headed by Gary B. Parsons, who has held the role since 1996, and is the longest-serving sheriff in Lee County's history.

Politics
Voters in Lee County wavered between Democratic and Republican presidential candidates throughout much of the twentieth century. Between 1920 and 2004, the county backed the nationwide winner on all but three occasions (1948, 1980, and 1988). Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the county has become more consistently Republican, voting overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2020. Republicans have consistently won local elections in recent years, as well.

Education
The Lee County School System operates eleven schools, including two high schools and one technical school.

Public high schools

 * Lee High School, Jonesville
 * Thomas Walker High School, Ewing

Public middle schools

 * Elydale Middle School, Ewing
 * Jonesville Middle School, Jonesville
 * Pennington Middle School, Pennington Gap

Public elementary schools

 * Dryden Elementary School, Dryden
 * Elk Knob Elementary School, Pennington Gap
 * Flatwoods Elementary School, Jonesville
 * Rose Hill Elementary School, Rose Hill
 * St. Charles Elementary School, St. Charles

Former
Pennington Elementary School, consisting of three buildings built at various times (1912, 1917, and 1937), was demolished in 1989, and a bank was constructed on its Morgan Avenue site. Three other elementary schools, Ewing, Keokee, and Stickleyville, were closed in June 2012.

Technical schools

 * Lee County Career & Technical Center, Ben Hur

Towns

 * Jonesville
 * Pennington Gap

Census-designated places

 * Dryden
 * Ewing
 * Keokee
 * Rose Hill
 * St. Charles

Other unincorporated communities

 * Ben Hur
 * Blackwater
 * Darbyville
 * Ewing
 * Gibson Station
 * Jasper
 * Monarch
 * Ocoonita
 * Olinger
 * Seminary
 * Stickleyville
 * Stone Creek
 * Woodway

Notable people

 * Frank Rowlett, cryptologist, member of the Signals Intelligence Service
 * Carol Wood, mathematician
 * Campbell Slemp, congressman
 * Andrew Taylor Still, founder of osteopathic medicine
 * William C. Wampler, U.S. Representative
 * Barry Audia, professional boxer
 * Jim Pankovits, Major League Baseball player
 * Elbert S. Martin, congressman
 * John Preston Martin, U.S. Senator from Kentucky
 * Steve Rasnic Tem, author
 * Glen Morgan Williams, federal judge
 * Don Newton, comic artist
 * James Buchanan Richmond, congressman
 * C. Bascom Slemp, congressman
 * Claude Ely, singer/songwriter
 * Walker Cress, Major League Baseball player
 * Cynthia D Kinser, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
 * Pete DeBusk, founder of DeRoyal Industries

In Popular Culture

 * Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Inspired by David Copperfield, author Charles Dickens, the 2022 novel is set in Lee County. The protagonist, like Copperfield, is born into poverty and becomes an orphan.