Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville. The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Archaic Native American populations. The first known Europeans to enter what is present-day Lee County were a party of S…Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville. The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Archaic Native American populations. The first known Europeans to enter what is present-day Lee County were a party of Spanish explorers, Juan de Villalobos and Francisco de Silvera, sent by Hernando de Soto in 1540, in search of gold. The county was formed after the American Revolutionary War in 1792 from Russell County. It was named for Light Horse Harry Lee, the Governor of Virginia from 1791 to 1794, who was famous for his exploits as a leader of light cavalry during the war. He was the father of Robert E. Lee, later a West Point graduate and career US Army officer who became the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.
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