Lee County, Kentucky

Lee County
County
Lee County courthouse in Beattyville
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°35′N 83°43′W / 37.59°N 83.72°W / 37.59; -83.72
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1870
Named for	Robert E. Lee
Seat	Beattyville
Largest city	Beattyville
Area
• Total	211 sq mi (550 km2)
• Land	209 sq mi (540 km2)
• Water	2.4 sq mi (6 km2)  1.1%
Population  (2020)
• Total	7,395
• Estimate  (2023)	7,293
• Density	35/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.leecounty.ky.gov

Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,395.^[1] Its county seat is Beattyville.^[2] The county was formed in 1870 from parts of Breathitt, Estill, Owsley and Wolfe counties.^[3] The county was named for Robert E. Lee.^[4] The area of Kentucky where Lee County is located was a pro-union region of Kentucky^[5] but the legislature that created the county was controlled by former Confederates. The town of Proctor, named for the Rev. Joseph Proctor, was the first county seat.^[3] The first court was held on April 25, 1870, in the old Howerton House. The local economy at the time included coal mining, salt gathering, timber operations, and various commercial operations. It had a U.S. post office from 1843 until 1918.

The county seat, Beattyville, was first known as Taylor's Landing, as it was a ferry landing on the Kentucky River.^[3] It was renamed to Beatty in 1850 after early settler Samuel Beatty. The town incorporated in 1872 as Beattyville and was chosen as the new county seat due to its location on the river, which aided transportation and trade.

Although Lee County had taverns in the 19th century,^[6] it was a prohibition or dry county until 2019 when the county voted to go wet. The City of Beattyville and Lee County Fiscal Court established alcoholic sale rules for their jurisdictions including prohibiting sales of alcohol on Sunday.