Lee County was one of the original landlot counties acquired from the Creek Indians in 1826. Georgia’s 68th county, it was named for Richard Henry Lee who had proposed in the Continental Congress that the colonies declare themselves free and independent. He was noted for capturing Augusta from the British in 1781, and was the father of Robert E. Lee.

The first county courthouse in Lee County was in Starkville, but fire destroyed it in 1856. The courthouse in Leesburg, the present county seat, was also hit by fire in 1872. Smithville is now the county’s only other incorporated municipality. Starkville lost its charter in 1995 when it was declared an inactive city under a law passed by the General Assembly