Lee dates to 1760, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #57 of 283 in Massachusetts. What drives it
7 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 69 buildings between them. Below: 30 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1807.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Lee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lee is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #57 of 283 in Massachusetts. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lee’s overall grade.
Massachusetts towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Massachusetts town has 46.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Lee’s 128 sits above most of its state (68% of Massachusetts towns have fewer) while its 73 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.5 points). Two sources give 1760.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Lee’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Lee, building by building, 1884–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Lee occupies land that was originally territory of Mahican Indians. The first non-native settlement in the area was known as Dodgetown as early as 1760. Dodgetown was named after its founding settler, Asahel Dodge, who immigrated to the area from Cape Cod. Lee was incorporated in 1777 from parts of Great Barrington and Washington. It is named after Revolutionary War General Charles Lee. Lee is a former mill town.
In the autumn of 1786 during Shays' Rebellion, about 250 followers of Daniel Shays encountered state troops commanded by General John Paterson near East Lee. The Shaysites paraded a fake cannon crafted from a yarn beam, and the troops fled.
Passages that mention Lee, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Great Barrington, (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts1882 · page 38Read the page →
Read the text
its southern end. In the north-eastern section, that part of the UjDper Township known as the Hoplands, was taken from this town and inchided in the town of Lee at the time of its incorporation, October 21st, 1777. By the setting oif to Alford, Great Barrington lost 1075 acres of its territory, which was still further reduced about 4700 acres by the aimexation of the Hoplands to Lee. By these changes the whole reduc-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Great Barrington, (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts1882 · page 30Read the page →
Read the text
northern end, a tract 1,920 rods in length east and west, and 770 rods in width north and south, and left a large tract, known as the Hoplands, lying east of Stockbridge, now a part of the town of Lee. The land taken for the Indian Town contained 9,240 acres, and the area of this township was thereby reduced to 22,120 acres. The township in its reduced form, extended fi'om the north line of the Lower Township — at the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Lee, 1760 to 1957
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1760, according to Wikidata. Lee’s post office opened in 1807, and the first U.S. census counted 1,170 people here in 1790.
How does Lee rank for history?
Lee is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #57 of 283 in Massachusetts. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Lee?
7 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Merrell Tavern (listed 1972, the first), 2 historic districts, the Lee Lower Main Street Historic District and the South Lee Historic District, with 69 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 73 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Lee?
30% of Lee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 21% for a Massachusetts town; the median home was built in 1959.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (37), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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