The First Lee House

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.