Lee, Indiana
Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lee is an unincorporated community in Monon Township, White County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.[3][4]
Lee, Indiana | |
|---|---|
 View north from Madison Street toward corn fields and grain elevators | |
  Lee  Lee | |
| Coordinates: 40°53′47″N 86°58′05″W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | White |
| Township | Monon |
| Established | 1883 |
| Platted | August 1886 |
| Named for | John Lee |
| Elevation | 673 ft (205 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 47978 |
| FIPS code | 18-42642[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 437727 |
The site of what is now Lee is first recorded as a station stop on the Indianapolis, Delphi and Chicago Railroad,[5] a company which by late 1879 had completed its initial 40-mile stretch of railroad connecting Rensselaer and Delphi.[6] The following year on 25 October[7] a post office was established at the location to serve the rural districts northwest of Monon with Calvin Anderson as its first postmaster.[8][9] Around 1884 the railroad became known as the Monon Route.[6][10]
Lee was established in 1883 and named for John Lee, the president of the ID&C Railroad, who opened a grain market there.[11][5] Lee's location in the northwestern portion of the county[12] was "a rich district of drained lands, admirably adapted to live stock," and as well as a place for marketing and shipping grain it was also an important local shipping point for hay; a 1915 history notes that hundreds of tons were baled and shipped annually.[13]
In August 1886 the location was platted under the name of Oakdale by Noble J. York, a local businessman and president of the Monon town board,[14] and Benjamin A. Linville, but it was generally known as Lee.[13] In 1949, a petition led to one of Lee's street being vacated .[15][16]
Lee's post office closed on 30 June 1933.[7][17] The line through Lee is now part of CSX Transportation Monon Subdivision[18] and is used by Amtrak. While shown on Amtrak maps, service provided on the Cardinal (and previously also on the Hoosier State) does not stop at Lee.[19]
In 2016, Helen Louise George, an 88-year resident of the area, published History and Reflections of Lee, Indiana which chronicles the history of Lee.[20]
Lee is located at 40°53′47″N 86°58′05″W about 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Monon[8][13] near the intersection of County Roads 1000 North and 500 West[21] and on the rail line between Monon and Rensselaer.[18][22] The surrounding farmland is drained by Slough Creek, a tributary of the Iroquois River[23] that flows just south of Lee in a westward direction.
White County map, 1908
Monon Township map detail, 1920
Abandoned church in Lee in 2019
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