Joe Lee, Texas, Bell County. (original) (raw)

History in a Pecan Shell

There never was a man named Joe Lee that had anything to do with founding the town.

Originally named Mud Springs, the land was donated by Jefferson Reed, a member of Robertson's colony. Settlement began in the 1830s. Mud Springs didn't have too much to report until 1903 when the local school showed a census of 83 students with 2 teachers.

The town underwent its name change in 1912 when founder Reed's daughter Millie Reed McLean combined the two names of Joe Reed, a storekeeper and Lee Underwood, the town's blacksmith.

Joe Lee, Texas kept its school until 1958 when it merged with Rogers ISD. It also has a church (the County Line Baptist) and the Reed Cemetery and McLean Cemeteries near the church.

Historic Joe Lee

by Clay Coppedge

You wouldn't know it by driving through this old community now - you might not even know you were driving through it at all - but the pioneering Bell County settlement of Joe Lee has produced two of the state's most respected historians, Ron Tyler and Malcolm McLean... more

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