Present Day Lee County – The Lee County Story

This data is as of March 2017

Population and income in present-day Lee County are similar to surrounding counties (United States Census Bureau 2017). According to the United States Census Bureau the 2015 population of Lee County was 24,742, a decrease of 3.3% since 2010 (United States Census Bureau 2017). The racial make-up of the county is 94.1% white, 4.3% African-American, .4% Native American and .3% Asian (United States Census Bureau 2017) According to the United States Census Bureau, the median household income for 2011-2015 was $31,086. The median national household income in the United States during this same period was $53,889 (United States Census Bureau 2017).

In terms of education, the 2015 data shows that 74.5% of Lee County residents over the age of 25 have a high school diploma but only 12.0% of persons have a Bachelor’s degree or higher (United States Census Bureau 2017). Primary elementary schools in Lee County are located in Dryden, Elydale, Elknob, Flatwoods, Rose Hill and St. Charles communities. Primary middle schools are located in Jonesville and Pennington Gap. Primary education on the high school level includes Lee High School, Thomas Walker High School, and the Lee County Career and Technical Center. A veterinary school serving as part of the Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN opened in 2015 in Lee County near Rose Hill.

Political affiliations in Lee County during the 2016 Presidential election according to the New York Times Virginia Results showed an overwhelming majority of residents (80.6%) voted for Donald Trump, while only 17.4% voted for Hilary Clinton (1.1% voted for Gary Johnson) (The New York Times 2017). Lee County also voted primarily Republican in the U.S. House election, with 68.7% of Virginia District 9 voting for Republican representative Morgan Griffith (The New York Times 2017).

Present-day Lee County also includes many historical organizations such as The Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society, Wilderness Road State Park, Cumberland Gap National Park, and the Lee County Department of Tourism that operate to preserve the history of the area.

Martha Grace Lowry Mize