Lee

Formed March 6, 1907 (98^th county)

Lee County (63,281), Sanford (30,188)

The Modern red brick 1995 Justice Center augments the 1908 Greek Revival courthouse and is located on Horner Boulevard at Courtland Street.  Horner Boulevard is United States Highway 421 in the town.  Fitchett Architects designed the Justice Center and Charles McMillan designed the courthouse.  The courthouse features columns and a bell on the grounds.  The county was founded on March 6, 1907 from parts of Chatham, Moore, and Harnett counties as the 98^th county with Sanford as the only county seat.  The county is named for Civil War General Robert E. Lee.  Sanford is named for railroad officer C. O. Sanford. 

Lee County government consists of a manager, a register, a sheriff, an attorney, and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-four Superior Court Judges serve Lee, Alamance, Anson, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Johnston, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, Union, and Wake counties, Two District Court Judges serve Lee, Harnett, and Johnston counties and a court clerk serves Lee County (judicial.) Lee County is in the central part of the state.  Greensboro, North Carolina is northwest and Raleigh, North Carolina is northeast of the county.  The county center is 2.2 miles Southeast of Sanford.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Chatham, Harnett, and Moore counties. 

The area of the county is 259 square miles.  It is 94 out of 100 in the state.  It ranks 42 out of 100 in population in the state.  It has a density of 244.3 persons per square mile making it 22 out of 100 in the state.  Lee County has 49.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 1 crosses the county northeast to south from Chatham County to Moore County.  United States Highways 15/501 come in from Chatham County, north, and go into Moore County, southwest.  United States Highway 421 enters from the east, Harnett County, and exits to the northwest, Chatham County.  The county is shaped like an ice cream cone.  Sanford is located north and west of center in the county.  Sanford is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 47.7% of the county population.  This county is in the Sanford Micropolitan Statistical Area.