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Lee, Massachusetts

Lee, Massachusetts
Town
Town Hall
Town Hall
Official seal of Lee, Massachusetts
Seal
Nickname(s): Wildcats
Motto: "Gateway to the Berkshires"
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°18′15″N 73°14′55″W / 42.30417°N 73.24861°W / 42.30417; -73.24861Coordinates: 42°18′15″N 73°14′55″W / 42.30417°N 73.24861°W / 42.30417; -73.24861
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Berkshire
Settled 1760
Incorporated 1777
Government
 • Type Representative town meeting
Area
 • Total 27.0 sq mi (70.0 km2)
 • Land 26.1 sq mi (67.7 km2)
 • Water 0.9 sq mi (2.3 km2)
Elevation 1,000 ft (305 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 5,943
 • Density 227/sq mi (87.8/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01238
Area code(s) 413
FIPS code 25-34655
GNIS feature ID 0618268
Website www.lee.ma.us

Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States settled by. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,943 at the 2010 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is part of the Berkshires resort area.

Lee occupies land which 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.

Early industries included agriculture, lumbering, and lime making. Abundant streams and rivers provided water power for mills which produced textiles and wire. In 1806, papermaking became the principal industry with the construction of the Willow Mill by Samuel Church in South Lee. In 1827, the Columbia Mill in central Lee was established, and would eventually be the first to supply 100% groundwood newsprint to The New York Times. By 1857, there were 25 paper mills in Lee. The Smith Paper Company discovered how to manufacture paper solely from wood pulp in 1867, and through the 1870s was the largest producer of paper in the country. The mills previously owned by Smith Paper Company were closed in 2008. Today, Lee has only a single papermaking facility.


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