The downtown area is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, since many of its early farmhouses, estates, business blocks and factories are still in use. The First Congregational Church is known for what's reputed as New England's tallest wooden steeple, and Joe's Diner gained national recognition in Norman Rockwell's 1958 Saturday Evening Post cover illustration, "The Runaway."
Early settlers, fishermen and their families ousted from their fishing grounds by the British Navy, arrived from Sandwich on Cape Cod (hence, the portion of Route 20 in East Lee known as Cape Street). They combined farming and lumbering in the hills near the southwestern edge of October Mountain State Forest, according to the town's unofficial historian Charlotte Davis. The original settlements, at the end of Chestnut Street, were known as Hartwood and Dodgetown.
Incorporated in 1777, 14 years after its first settlers arrived, the town was renamed for General Charles Lee, the second-in-command to George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
Paper mills, marble quarries and lime pits were crucial in the town's early history and remain a part
Following its discovery by architects and builders in 1852, Lee marble acquired a reputation as the hardest and best quality in the world. It was used in the construction of the nation's Capitol, the Statehouse and the Public Library in Boston, as well as St. Patrick's Cathedral, Columbia University, Grant's Tomb, the Empire State Building and City Hall in New York City. Lee High School and the Lee Public Library include homemade marble.
In just
The first paper mill was built in South Lee by Samuel Church in 1806. As many as 25 paper mills were operating in the town by the mid-1800s, producing paper worth $2 million a year.
A new process for making paper from wood pulp was implemented in 1867 at the Housatonic Mill. The Smith Paper Company became the world's largest paper producer until the supply of lumber in the nearby forests was exhausted.
Two population clusters developed on the outskirts — East Lee, along Route 20, and South Lee along Route 102, which has its own zip code and post office.
South Lee is home to the Oak 'n Spruce time-share resort as well as Country Curtains and a portion of Beartown State Forest.
The first house ever built in the town, from 1760, still stands as a privately owned residence near the intersection of Park and Housatonic streets, behind the Berkshire Bank. A tavern was originally at the site to serve stagecoach travelers, but it burned down in 1833, according to Davis.
Davis's family roots in the town go back to 1845 and she describes the people of Lee as "very friendly and outgoing. There are no class distinctions and we're welcoming to new residents."
The Federal Writers Project's book, "The Berkshire Hills," published in 1939 by the Berkshire Hills Conference Inc., included this description of the town: "Lee, compared to Berkshire's orchid towns next door, Stockbridge and Lenox, is quiet and unostentatious. There isn't anything stylish about the town; the streets are narrow, the trim houses modest, and the people occupied with the everyday job of making a living in the paper mills and the marble quarry."
In recent years, the town has been attracting new tenants to the Lee Industrial Park on Route 20 and the nearby Lee Corporate Center on Pleasant Street. The Regional Planning Commission has cited Lee as one of the most diversified employment centers in the county.
Diversification is crucial, says Rich Vinette, the executive director of the Lee Community Development Corp. (CDC). The private. nonprofit organization focuses on economic
The future of the paper industry in Lee is uncertain, as Vinette points out. "If you look at the industry globally, it's a concern and we're not immune. We've tried to communicate with the paper industry as best as we can, but I don't think there's much we can do to change the market forces, and that's what's driving this whole thing."
Schweitzer Mauduit's Eagle, Columbia and Greylock mills along the Housatonic near the downtown, and Mead Westvaco's Willow and Laurel mills in South Lee remain central to the town's manufacturing base, along with Berkshire Marble and Granite Corp. (formerly Lee Marble) and Oldcastle Stone Products (formerly Lee Lime, purchased in 1997 by Medusa Corp.).
According to the latest available statistics from the state Department of Workforce Development, 15 manufacturers employed 764 people in Lee, with an average weekly paycheck of $1,232, in 2005. Some recent layoffs, especially in the paper industry, have caused a moderate spike in the unemployment rate to 5.7 percent in February. Paper-mill employment is estimated at around 300.
The Lee CDC is focusing on what Vinette calls "the smaller industries that make up a significant portion of the economy." The 52-acre Quarry Hill Business Park, with individual, prepared lots available for development ranging from 2 to 8.5 acres, is zoned for light industry, and is half-filled. In addition to Boyd Converting, with more than 100 employees, the site includes Ray Murray Inc., a supplier of gas equipment to the propane industry with 85 workers, Lee Family Practice, Applied Energy Management and Barrington Coffee Roasters.
Nearby, the 116,000 square-foot Lee Corporate Center, formerly the KB Distribution Center, has a combination of office, warehouse and light industrial space. It is nearly filled, Vinette reports, with a dozen tenants, including Wave Systems, Berkshire Wireless, Susan Sparks Physical Therapy, and the Lee School Department.
As for downtown revitalization, Vinette acknowledges "there's a lot more to do" following the efforts of Lee Economic Action Downtown (LEAD) about 10 years ago.
"They did a lot of good things and made a huge difference," says Vinette, "but our task now is to deal with change in the economy. We need to maintain Lee's character downtown, ensure that we can create some jobs and make sure Main Street survives with the goods and services that have been available and continue to be available. We need to maintain Lee as a real place."
To that end, Vinette cites the redevelopment of the Bookless Block, which includes the vacated five-and-dime, as a top priority since it's "a key building downtown. We're working with the current owners to try to get some interest in developing that building in a variety of scenarios."
Vinette notes that the top two floors have been vacant for 35 years, but the building remains in good condition.
A downtown strategic plan is being developed, including the underdeveloped gazebo area adjacent to Railroad Street. The goal is to attract the interest of private developers.
"Lee has has so much to offer. ... We're going to see some real dynamism once we partner with developers," Vinette predicts. "Our new way of thinking is that Lee is a destination rather than just a gateway."
The Prime Outlets at Lee, with at least 70 merchants, is strategically located off the Massachusetts Turnpike's Exit 2 and easily accessible to travelers. It has become an important source of service-level local employment and a major contributor to the town's tax base. Attracting to the downtown the swarms of shoppers who flock to the complex is key to the revitalization strategy.
"If you want a successful downtown, you have to convince people that there's two-hours' worth of interesting things to do," Vinette maintains.
He's keen on the growing popularity of the Berkshire Scenic Railway, which includes a stop at the Sullivan Station restaurant built in the former New Haven Railroad depot.
The former Diesel Dan's truck stop just off the Turnpike is targeted for major redevelopment as a hotel, restaurant and retail complex by F.L. Roberts & Co. of Springfield, pending state environmental approval.
Expansion or relocation of the Price Chopper supermarket is also high on Vinette's agenda, although there's nothing concrete to report yet for enhanced grocery shopping in the town.
A more immediate goal, pending approval of a state Turnpike tourism grant, is a Berkshire Preview outdoor festival in late June. Vinette has secured interest from Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the Norman Rockwell Museum and Shakespeare & Co.
The Gateway Project is in its final stages of upgrading the appearance of the Route 20 corridor from the Turnpike to the downtown business district.
At least a dozen bed-and-breakfast establishments have been opened in historic houses, and there are additional, long-established inns and motels. New restaurants specializing in Greek and Vietnamese cuisine are in the downtown area, along with long-established eateries ranging from Joe's Diner to the Salmon Run Fish House (formerly Rossi's) and the Morgan House Inn.
At Town Hall, officials are focusing on infrastructure improvements.
The $23 million wastewater treatment plant, a subject of lightning-rod controversy just several years ago, is expected to be completed by late fall, according to Town Administrator Bob Nason.
"We're going to have to look at some of the other infrastructure," says Select Board Chairwoman Patricia Carlino, a native who has served nine years on the board, including two terms as chair. An aging water pipe connector burst and disrupted the Main Street business district on March 23.
More federal funding may be available to add a dozen more senior housing units to the current total of 45 at the former Lee Elementary School complex, where the gymnasium continues to be used by everyone from teens to seniors. Carlino also foresees an examination of the town's zoning ordinance, with possible modifications needed.
"Just like any other small town in the county, land is at a premium and people put up houses anywhere they can," she says. "We'll continue to work on making zoning better by looking at different aspects of it, possibly cluster housing."
The Lee Youth Association is "moving on" from the recent flap involving the behavior of some teens, Carlino noted, and the organization is interviewing candidates to replace Donna Skowron, a 23-year employee who resigned last December following the vandalism that broke out over the closing of several popular basketball courts. Executive Director Sharon Terry shut down the youth program in the immediate aftermath of the incident, an action backed by the LYA Board of Directors.
As for the town's rising real-estate tax burden, Carlino stresses that "we are trying to manage the costs to the taxpayers as best we can. But the schools and the infrastructure have to be kept up. We're constantly after the state legislators to increase funding, but they don't.
"Up to now, we have not had to cut anything," she points out, "but we have not added new programs or expanded them. We've been very, very lucky." Carlino says she remains optimistic "as long as the state doesn't come through with any surprises. If they don't cut anything more, we can probably sustain that. We were pretty smart in the way we have tried to build up our reserves."
Carlino, whose day job is government banking for TD Bank North, says she's always happy to return to Lee from her statewide travels.
"We've got a really nice little town here," she says, comparing it favorably to the others she visits.
Drawbacks include traffic congestion, especially trucks.
"It's a pain in the neck, but it's something we'll have to live with," Carlino says. "I don't have an easy solution." She finds tourist traffic on summer weekends easier to manage — "it's one of the things you put up with for living in a cultural area."
"I see tourism growing every year," Carlino notes. "I love it at night, they're walking up and down Main Street, sitting on benches and eating ice cream cones.
"I always feel Lee is a great place to live and bring up your family in the Northeast area, although sometimes, because you live in a small town, people know your business. It's a small price to pay.
"Although we are expanding, it seems like we're trying more to retain more of our younger generation to raise their families and contribute to their community, because Lee is such a nice town to live in. We're expanding with new people. But we have our native people — they're always good when something happens, they rally around."
Carlino is still moved by the turnout at fundraisers for her granddaughter Sarah, now 3, who has had to undergo delicate surgeries for a rare brain disease.
"The whole town came out, it was unbelievable," Carlino recalls. "Even though we've evolved and advanced to a larger town, we retain our small-town values."-
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