Today let's visit Lee Center, New York. Nancy D from the STCC is from there. My apologies but I couldn't find any photos of Lee Center on the internet other than photos of real estate.

Lee Center is a community or populated place (Class Code U6) located in Oneida County at latitude 43.303 and longitude -75.518. The elevation is 617 feet. Lee Center appears on the Lee Center U.S. Geological Survey Map. Oneida County is in the Eastern time zone.
The village of Lee Center is centrally located in the town. Canada Creek flows through the village making it an ideal location for settlement. The original spelling was Lee Centre until changed by the post office in 1920.
It is uncertain the exact date the first settlers came to this area but it was within a few years of the settlement at Delta. In 1793, James Young settled just south of Lee Center and built a log cabin. His parents and their children joined him the following year. Shortly after John Hall settled near James Young. There has also been information written about Eunice Park, widow of Jacob Park, settling a mile west of Lee Center in 1795. Her sons, William and Abijah Park, purchased land in 1810 that later covered much of the present village of Lee Center. William Park later became Town Supervisor, elected into that office for 15 years in successsion, 1817 - 1833.
It has been noted that the first sawmill in Lee Center, and the second sawmill to be built in the town of Lee, was built on Canada Creek in 1796 by John Hall and Smith Miller. In 1798 Thomas and William Forfar, brothers from Scotland, built a grist mill on Canada Creek. In the early 1820’s Ezra Hovey built a grist mill a short distance below the mill built by the Forfar brothers. Hovey’s grist mill was later owned by Phineas Scothon, Lorenzo Dunster and Fred Morat. This mill stood for many years and was dismantled in February 1952. A sawmill across Canada Creek from the Hovey grist mill was in operation for a number of years.
In 1819 the Union Ecclesiastical Society was formed here. William Park donated the land for the building of the church, with the stipulation that the town have the use of part of the building for town purposes and the building be used for all religious denominations. This was the first house for public worship built in the town of Lee. This building was often referred to as the North Meeting House. The Methodist Society held services here until 1877. In 1910 it was remodeled into the Masonic Temple by the Baron Steuben Lodge when they had to move from Delta. This building is still being used by them today.
On March 7, 1820, the Harmony Library Association was formed. Dr. Elijah Ward, Charles Ufford, William Laney, Thomas E. Lawrence and James Young were elected trustees. It was resolved that 'The Harmony Library shall be kept within one mile of the North Meeting House in the Town of Lee.' James Young was the librarian. The library was kept at his farmhouse and he continued as librarian until his death in 1836. After his death interest slowly dwindled and the library finally became extinct.
The first post office was established in 1827 with Charles Stokes the first postmaster. Two express stage lines ran daily from Lee Center to Rome, carrying passengers and the mail. One ran through Lee Line (Lorena) and one through Stokes, Delta and Ridge Mills.
The first store in the village was built by William and Abijah Park and leased to Mr. Sherman. It changed hands several times until it was purchased by Charles Stokes around 1830. The store was demolished by A. A. Cornish in 1878, and a new building was erected.
In 1830/31 a small tannery was established by Asa Adams on Canada Creek. This tannery was later owned by Asa B. Sexton and then Eames & Smith in 1871. In 1872 Church Street was built to provide easier access to the tannery. The tannery burned in 1888 and was not rebuilt.
A large tannery was built by Newton, Nash & Co. of Boston just west of Lee Center off the north side of the Lee Center Taberg Road on a branch of Canada Creek. The ground breaking took place on September 10, 1868. They manufactured fine leather in the rough and did an extensive business. The main building was 100’ by 40’ with a 42’ by 50’ wing and a 62’ high chimney. The upright part of the building was three stories high, including the basement. The basement contained 75 tan vats, each holding 15, 000 gallons of liquid, a 15 horsepower steam engine and a 50 horsepower boiler. The second and third stories were used for grinding bark and drying rooms. The whole building was warmed by steam heat conducted into each room by 6” iron pipe. The leech house was 17’ by 70’ and had a capacity of 18 cords of ground bark every 24 hours. William A. Adams was the agent of the company and had charge of all the affairs of the firm. Business commend in May 1870 and employed about fifty men. The building burned in 1876 and was not rebuilt.
In 1839/40 George and Aaron Stedman operated a furniture, cabinet and undertaking business in the village.
In 1860 the Lee Center Hotel was built and continued in operation under several different managements until 1918 when the building was destroyed by fire.
By the 1880’s the village contained 2 blacksmith shops, 2 dry goods and grocery stores, a variety store, a drug store, tinware and 2 hardware stores, a cooper shop, 2 shoe shops, a dentist, harness shop and a hotel.
On August 9, 1871, a contract was let to Cornelius Dingman to build a school house. The original school house, District 3, was located on the present site of the Methodist Church, on the corner of Church and Main Street. The Union Free School opened January 9, 1872, with William P. Robinson the first principal, and remained open until the town of Lee consolidated with Rome School District in 1957. Several years later the building was torn down and the Town of Lee Highway Garage was built on the site.
On November 25, 1869, Reuben R. Richmond sold a parcel of property to the Lee Center Spring Water Company for $30.00. This parcel of land was known as the Star Spring and was located off Sloan Road. From this spring the water was piped along Main Street providing water to the residents. In 1869 John G. Webster was Chairman and H. J. Hitchcock was Secretary of the Lee Center Spring Water Company. Local residents purchased stock in the company and were required to maintain the line into their house. On June 4, 1896 the Lee Center Spring Water Company was incorporated and continued to supply water to the village. At this time Henry Stokes was President and Carl Simon Secretary. In the 1960’s the town began receiving water from the city of Rome.
The United Methodist Church was built in 1877 on the site of the old District 3 school. The schoolhouse was dismantled and rebuilt on a new foundation next to the church. This was used as the parsonage. The building was dedicated on October 18, 1877 and the first minister was Rev. James Stanton. On March 3, 1935 a fire broke out in the church, destroying both the church, the parsonage and several equipment sheds behind the church. Several nearby homes were also badly damaged. Through the determined efforts of the members of the congregation the church and parsonage were rebuilt within a year. The new church was dedicated on March 22, 1936.
In 1912 a canning factory was built to replace the one being demolished in the village of Delta. This was built and operated by Olney & Floyd and provided employment for many village residents for a good many years. The factory was closed in 1971.
In the early 1900’s a railroad was proposed to run from Osceola to Rome, going through the village. The project was started, with some track being laid, but never completed. This railroad project was instrumental in the decision to relocate several business here from Delta.
About 1918, a sawmill was erected on Canada Creek, behind the Methodist Church. This sawmill was operated by the Swancotts and employed fifteen to twenty people. The mill and all its equipment was lost to a fire on September 16, 1933 and was not rebuilt.

Today's Jumble (9/1/08):
HILEW = WHILE; ESING = SINGE; HAXLEE = EXHALE; YARRET = ARTERY
CIRCLED LETTERS = HISEELAT
This can lead to the altar.
"THE AISLE"

Happy Labor Day. Today is also Emma M. Nutt Day in honor of the first woman telephone operator.

Other things on this day in history:

462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle.
1355 - Tvrtko I writes in castro nostro Vizoka vocatum from old town Visoki.
1532 - Lady Anne Boleyn is made Marchioness of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII of England.
1644 - Battle of Tippermuir, Montrose defeats Elcho's Covenanters, reviving Royalist cause.
1715 - King Louis XIV of France dies after a reign of 72 years—the longest of any major European monarch.
1752 - The Liberty Bell arrives in Philadelphia.
1763 - Catherine II of Russia endorses Ivan Betskoy's plans for a Foundling Home in Moscow
1772 - Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa founded in San Luis Obispo, California.
1804 - Juno, one of the largest main belt asteroids, was discovered by German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding.
1807 - Former US Vice President Aaron Burr is acquitted of treason.
1836 - Narcissa Whitman, one of the first white women to settle west of the Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington.
1859 - A solar superstorm affects electrical telegraph service.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Chantilly - Confederate forces attack retreating Union troops in Chantilly, Virginia.
1864 - American Civil War: Confederate General John Bell Hood evacuates Atlanta, Georgia after a four-month siege by General Sherman.
1870 - Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Sedan is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory.
1873 - Cetshwayo ascends to the throne as king of the Zulu nation following the death of his father Mpande.
1875 - A murder conviction effectively forces the violent Irish anti-owner coal miners, the "Molly Maguires", to disband.
1894 - Great Hinckley Fire: A forest fire in Hinckley, Minnesota, kills more than 400 people.
1897 - The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
1902 - A Trip to the Moon, considered one of the first science fiction films, is released in France.
1905 - Alberta and Saskatchewan join the Canadian confederation.
1906 - The International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys (FICPI) is established.
1910 - It founded the Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, a brazilian sports club.
1914 - St. Petersburg, Russia changes its name to Petrograd.
1914 - The last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.
1923 - The Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama, killing about 105,000 people.
1928 - Ahmet Zogu declares Albania to be a monarchy and proclaims himself king.
1934 - SMJK Sam Tet was founded by Father Fourgs from the St. Michael Church, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
1939 - World War II: Nazi Germany attacks Poland, beginning the war. (See Invasion of Poland.)
1939 - George C. Marshall becomes Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
1939 - The Wound Badge for Wehrmacht, SS, Kriegsmarine, and Luftwaffe soldiers is instituted. The final version of the Iron Cross was also instituted on this date.
1939 - Switzerland mobilizes its forces and the Swiss Parliament elects Henri Guisan to head the Swiss Army (an event that can happen only during war or mobilization).
1951 - The United States, Australia and New Zealand sign a mutual defense pact, called the ANZUS Treaty.
1961 - The Eritrean War of Independence officially begins with the shooting of the Ethiopian police by Hamid Idris Awate
1962 - Channel Television launches to 54,000 households in the Channel Islands.
1964 - Indian Oil Corporation formed after merging Indian Oil Refineries and Indian Oil Company.
1969 - A revolution in Libya brings Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi to power, which was later transferred to the People's Committees.
1970 - Attempted assassination of King Hussein of Jordan by Palestinian guerillas, who attacked his motorcade.
1972 - In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.
1974 - The SR-71 Blackbird sets (and holds) the record for flying from New York to London: 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds.
1979 - The American space probe Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn when it passes the planet at a distance of 21,000 km.
1980 - Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope ends in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
1981 - A coup d'état in the Central African Republic overthrows President David Dacko.
1982 - Canada adopts a Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as part of its Constitution.
1982 - The United States Air Force Space Command is founded.
1983 - Cold War: Korean Air Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed, including US Congressmen Lawrence McDonald.
1985 - A joint American-French expedition locates the wreck of the RMS Titanic.
1990 - The Communist Labour Party of Turkey/Leninist is founded, following a split from the Communist Labour Party of Turkey.
1991 - Uzbekistan declares independence from the Soviet Union
2001 - England beat Germany 5-1 in Munich in qualifying for the 2002 World Cup
2004 - The Beslan school hostage crisis begins when armed terrorists take hundreds of school children and adults hostage in the Russian town of Beslan in North Ossetia.
2005 - Seven members and former members of the AFL-CIO form a new trade union organization, the Change to Win Federation.
2006 - Luxembourg became the first country to complete the move to all digital television broadcasting.