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North Carolina natives Benjamin Lee, his wife Alice, and their family came to this area about 1853, and soon acquired over 1,230 acres of land. The Lees operated a large cotton plantation with the help of their ten children and slave labor. Benjamin Lee became a community leader and was elected county commissioner one year after his arrival in the area. Currently covering over thirteen acres, this cemetery began as a small family burial ground in 1856, upon the death of Benjamin Lee. Alice Lee was the second person to be buried here, and their graves are included in the Lee family plot in the oldest section, surrounded by an iron fence. The graves of the four Lee sons, all of whom served in the Confederate army, are also in the family plot. Although established as a family graveyard, the Lee Cemetery was expanded to include graves of neighbors and gradually became a public community cemetery. Many types of stones and grave markers can be seen here, including one above-ground brick vault burial. Members of the community interred here include banker Charles H. Morris; mayor and state legislator William D. Suiter; doctor John B. Goldsmith and newspaper publishers Homer R. and Mae O. Weir. (1986) |
