Tracing the History of Lee Town

The people of Henry County, and especially the community of Salem, have long been known for their participation in the Underground Railroad, a system for helping slaves escape to freedom in the pre-Civil War period of American History.

Another story, often forgotten, is the attempt by a Mt. Pleasant resident to provide housing for freedmen in the northeast section of Mt. Pleasant called Lee Town. A newspaper article (no date) written by C. S. Rogers and on file at the Iowa Wesleyan College Archives, states Lee Town was the project of a Mr. Lee "who was deeply sympathetic" toward the former slaves.

"Mr. Lee bought, or had owned a large tract of land in the northeast part of town, bounded on the south by the Burlington tracks, on the west by North Washington Street (now Lincoln Street), on the north by Division Street, and east by the city limits." Division Street is now Cedar Lane. "On this tract, Mr. Lee built a number of small one story, two- and three-bedroom houses and invited colored families to move into them. In a short time, the houses were all tenanted by freedmen from Missouri."

The 1870 Henry County Atlas shows a Lee's subdivision bounded by the Burlington tracks on the south, Sycamore Street on the west, Oak Street on the north, and Linn Street on the east, containing 12 small lots. The 1869 "bird's eye" view map of Mt. Pleasant shows houses in the area, all small in size and the same design.

Living in Mt. Pleasant at this time was a construction contractor named Alexander Lee. Lee was the general contractor for the construction of Main Hall (Old Main) on the Iowa Wesleyan College Campus. To handle construction of a large three story building in the mid 1850s, this man must have been a talented and probably wealthy person.

The large migration of blacks to Mt. Pleasant occurred in the period 1870 to 1890. One could assume Lee Town developed during that time period, but if we look at the life of Alexander Lee, this poses a problem. Alexander Lee enlisted in the First Iowa Volunteer Infantry, a 90 day unit, at the opening of the Civil War. He served out his enlistment and was discharged. He then enlisted in the 25th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, which organized and received its initial training at Camp Harlan, located west of Mt. Pleasant.

During action at the siege of Vicksburg, Miss., Alexander was wounded and returned to Mt. Pleasant. He died April 2, 1864, of complications from his wounds. Both he and his wife, Rozanne, are buried in the Old Cemetery located between S. Main and S. Jefferson Streets. If Alexander Lee is the founder of Lee Town, who carried on his work after his death?

It is difficult to determine the population of blacks in Lee Town. The black population living in Henry County apparently peaked in the late 1800s. The census figures for Henry County show: 1870 - 465; 1880 - 509; 1890 - 411; 1900 - 367; 1910 - 264; 1920 - 212; 1930 - 133; 1940 - 126.

Another factor is blacks living in other parts of town. There was a second Lee's Addition shown in the 1870 Atlas in the west part of Mt. Pleasant. The boundaries of this addition were Washington Street on the south, Henry Street on the north, McCoy Street on the west, and Marion Street on the east. Betty Mullen found in her research a reference to a black settlement in that area. Is this a second Lee Town?

Also, Glenwood Tolson states there were blacks living north of Courtland Street on the north side of the railroad tracks in the area of Crane's Pond. This information might explain the location of the school attended by blacks in Mt. Pleasant. The 1879 Henry County History states the Mt. Pleasant School Board purchased a wood framed house in 1863 for use as a school for blacks. The school was probably located near Tracy's Lake (North Broadway south of the city's maintenance garage). This would place the school in a central location between Lee Town and the settlements in west Mt. Pleasant. Nicknamed "Frog Pond", the school was closed when Winona School was opened and the Mt. Pleasant schools were integrated.

Two African American churches were located in the north part of Mt. Pleasant. The African Methodist Church was located at the corner of N. Jackson and W. Henry Streets and the African Baptist (now Second Baptist) is still in use. The Second Baptist Church is located at the corner of N. Van Buren and W. Saunders Streets, and was "the first Negro church in the State," established in 1863.

During a session of Winterfest in January 2000 at Iowa Wesleyan College, which had Lee Town as a topic, some interesting stories emerged.

One person told of the Christmas programs at Lee Town Mission, another described the great smells of fried chicken and homemade bread as she walked home from school. Still another told of a black lady who was always very friendly and kind to children. She explained she was not dirty and the black would not "rub off".

Glenwood Tolson compiled a list of families living in Lee Town area during his life in Mt. Pleasant. His list consisted of 43 different families. A few of those family names include Arbuckle, Austin, Greenup, Hamilton, Johnson, Keith, McCracken, McPike, Pickett, Reed, Sims, Tolson, and Wells.

There is little evidence that remains of Lee Town. The last house identified as an "original" was demolished early in January of 2000. There may be other original houses that have additions which could be researched through the property's deed and abstract. Lee Town Mission is still standing, but has been remodeled and is still used as a home.

Read more about the People of Lee Town.