Sanford North Carolina Community Information
Lee County NC Information
North Carolina's Lee County is a thriving "micropolitan" rooted in business, industry, the arts and more. It has a pleasant small-town living atmosphere and is home to more than 1.3 million people. The county contains numerous quality and innovative schools and is in close proximity to Raleigh, the state capital, and other urban centers. Lee County offers a wide range of living options and an attractive quality of life.
Formed in 1907 from parts of neighboring Moore and Chatham counties makes Lee County one of the youngest counties in North Carolina. At the time the county was founded, the two cities of Jonesboro and Sanford were roughly the same size. Rather than pick one for the county seat, the courthouse was located between the two towns. Sanford and Jonesboro merged into Sanford in the 1970s, but the old downtown of Jonesboro still remains. The two incorporated towns in Lee County are Sanford with a population of 25,000 and Broadway with a population of just over 1,000.
Lee County is divided into seven townships: Greenwood, Jonesboro, Cape Fear, Deep River, East Sanford, West Sanford, and Pocket. These townships are used for a variety of reasons, one of which is to classify where real estate in the county is located. Lee County has a population of over 50,000 and is growing. Lee County is home to a number of manufacturing industries including brick making, cosmetics with Coty, printer cartridges with Lexmark, industrial and construction equipment with Caterpillar, and vaccines with Wyeth, to name a few.
The county is located near the center of the State of North Carolina where the hills of the Piedmont meet the costal plain. Further to the south and east, the land is flat. Further to the north and west the land is hilly. It is where these two areas come together that the rivers cross what is called the "fall line". Along the fall line, the rivers become rocky. In the past, large boats had to unload cargo at this point. For the modern river user this provides a great area to canoe or kayak among the rapids of the local rivers. Lee County has many historical sites dating back to the civil and revolutionary wars and is a great place to learn about history.
Much of Lee County is within an hour's drive of Raleigh and the Research Triangle Park while also being within an hour of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. This makes Lee County ideally suited to families where one member needs to commute to Raleigh and the other member needs to commute to the Fort Bragg area.
The following are useful links containing more information about Lee County:
