First Lee House

First Lee House is a Tennessee historical marker in Shelby County.

Shelby Co, Memphis E72 Elmwood Cemetery Shelby Co, Memphis, inside gate of cemetery, S. Dudley St.

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Built in 1869 by James Lee, Jr. (1832–1905), lawyer, riverman and leader in the development of Memphis, the first Lee House was designed by architect Joseph Willis. In this home of Italianate-Victorian design also lived James Lee, Sr. (1808-1889), who in 1866 founded the Lee Line with its home port at Memphis. Their packets and “floating palace” excursion boats plied the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers between Cincinnati and New Orleans.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1809 · United States of America, southern part. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1829 · Tennessee (A. Finley, 1829) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1835 · Chickasaw Cession, Mississippi (1835) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1836 · Arkansas. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1901 · Memphis. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

Eugene Magevneyunder 1 mi
Forrest’s Early Homeunder 1 mi
Jefferson Davisunder 1 mi
Court Squareunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.