LEE

A short history of Lee

Lee was first settled by Europeans in 1657 as part of the extensive early Dover township. It includes Wheelwright Pond, named for the Reverend John Wheelwright, the founder of Exeter.

Wheelwright Pond was the site of a noted early battle during King William's War. Indians, incited by the government of New France, attacked Exeter on July 4, 1690. They were pursued by two infantry companies raised for the purpose, who overtook them at Wheelwright Pond on July 6, 1690. Fierce fighting on that day would leave 3 officers and 15 soldiers dead, together with a large number of Indians. Among the dead were Captain Noah Wiswall, Lieutenant Gershom Flagg, and Ensign Edward Walker of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

In 1735, Durham, which included Lee, separated from Dover. Then Lee, in turn, would separate from Durham on January 16, 1766, when it was established by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth. It was among the last of 129 towns to receive a charter during his administration, and named for British General Charles Lee, who later joined the American Revolution.

Lee is hometown for numerous faculty of the University of New Hampshire in Durham. In 2007 the U.S. Postal Service assigned the town its own ZIP code—03861.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Lee, New Hampshire, revision 1379468627 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.