The Lee Highway was a national auto trail in the United States, connecting New York City and San Francisco, California via the South and Southwest. After receiving a letter on January 15, 1919 from Dr. S.M. Johnson of Roswell, New Mexico, David Carlisle Humphreys of Lexington, Virginia put out a call for a meeting in Roanoke, Virginia to form a new national highway association. On December 3, 1919 five hundred men from five states met in Roanoke to officially form the Lee Highway Association. The auto trail was named after Robert E. Lee.
The route of the Lee Highway is now roughly designated by the following routes:
US 1: New York to Washington, D.C.
US 29: Washington to Warrenton, Virginia
US 211: Warrenton to New Market, Virginia
US 11: New Market to Bristol, Virginia
US 11W: Bristol to Knoxville, Tennessee
US 11: Knoxville to Chattanooga, Tennessee
US 72: Chattanooga to Corinth, Mississippi
US 45, Corinth to Selmer, Tennessee
US 64, Selmer to Memphis, Tennessee
US 70, Memphis to Alamogordo, New Mexico
US 54, Alamogordo to El Paso, Texas
US 180, El Paso to Las Cruces, New Mexico
US 70, Las Cruces to Globe, Arizona
US 60, Globe to Phoenix, Arizona
Arizona SR 85 (former US 80) and Old US 80, Phoenix to Gila Bend, Arizona
I-8 (former US 80), Gila Bend to San Diego, California
I-5 (former US 101), San Diego to Los Angeles, California
US 101, Los Angeles to San Francisco, California
Much of the original route is still known by the name "Lee Highway". The following cities and areas of the U.S. (listed from East to West) still have roads that use the name:
Virginia
The Lee Highway was defined by the General Assembly on March 20, 1922 to run from the District of Columbia at the Francis Scott Key Bridge to Bristol at the border with Tennessee. This was defined as U.S. Route 211 and U.S. Route 11 in 1926; US 211 northeast of Warrenton is now U.S. Route 29. It now uses the following business routes:U.S. Route 29 Business and U.S. Route 211 Business in Warrenton
U.S. Route 211 Business in Washington
U.S. Route 211 Business in Luray
U.S. Route 11 Business in Staunton
U.S. Route 11 Business in Lexington
The portion of US 11 known as Apperson Drive in Salem, Virginia and Brandon Avenue SW in Roanoke, Virginia is also commonly called Lee Highway. Other sections of US 11 in the Roanoke Valley are not typically referred to as Lee Highway. In the county of Botetourt, US 11 transitions from Williamson Road to Lee Highway and is thus named at least until Buchanan, Virginia
Tennessee
East Tennessee (US 11 from Chattanooga to Dixie Lee Junction)
Cleveland, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
South Pittsburg, Tennessee
Huntsville, Alabama
Florence, Alabama
Corinth, Mississippi
