Alice Lee (civic leader)

Alice Lee was born on May 27, 1853, in Westport, Essex County, New York, and died on February 18, 1943, in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, living approximately 89 years. As one of the most influential figures of the Social Movement, she had a same sex partner, Katherine Teats, who died in 1952. They were both aspects of the social environment by hosting two U.S. presidents and their wives at their San Diego, California, residence. Lee and Teats are, according to the San Diego Historical Resource Board, "one of the first documented domestic partnerships in San Diego," being documented living together in various Census records; in the 1930 Census, Lee was the Head of Household and Teats was Partner (and not Lodger while often used in such cases). Together they owned various real estate properties in San Diego, had an active civic and social life, and were accepted as a couple.[1]

Photograph of Alice Lee
Photograph of Westport Inn in Westport, New York founded by Alice Lee

Lee is viewed as a “Civic Leader in San Diego Union, the Ticonderoga Sentinel, the Boston Globe, and Women of the West: A Series of Biographical Sketches of Living Eminent Women in the Eleven Western States of the United States of America”.[2]

Lee died on February 18, 1943, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was spending the winter, and is buried at Hillside Cemetery, Westport.[1][3]

Early life and education

Alice Lee was born on May 27, 1853, in Westport, New York, the daughter of Colonel Francis L. Lee (1823-1886) and Sarah Mary Anne Wilson.[3] She was the second cousin of Theodore Roosevelt's wife, Alice Hathaway Lee.[4]

Leed continued her education in Boston, Massachusetts, where the family spent the winters while growing up.[3]

Mid Adulthood

In 1887, at age 34, Alice Lee purchased Marvin House (John Halstead’s original pub) in Westport, New York, transforming it into a posh hotel. Marvin House became the foundation for Westport Inn. It was open from June through October but was usually just a summer getaway for tourists. She removed bordering properties so that she could add new attractions to this hotel. Westport Inn consisted of additional "cottages", a boathouse, gardens, tennis and croquet courts, a 6-hole Golf course and the annex (located on the other side of Main Street). Alice Lee's brother, Thomas Lee, built the pipes to bring water from Mountain Spring down to the hotel which later became the town water supply. He also bottled the water to sell it.[5] Lee sold the property to Harry P. Smith in the early 1900s.[3] The Westport Inn was demolished in 1966, 80 years after it was built.[3]

Westport Library that Alice Lee helped fund

Lee helped fund-raising for both the Westport Library (1888) and the Cutting Memorial Hall addition (1907).[5] Cutting Memorial Hall became a social center for the people of Westport, New York. Westport Library remains in its original structure due to restrictions that granted it establishment in the first place.[5]

Late Adulthood

In 1902 Lee moved to San Diego to find a better climate for her health problems. When she first moved to San Diego she met the Marston family, who were already involved in the Progressive movement. Lee was a supporter of the Progressive movement, and other than Theodore Roosevelt, she was friends with Florence Nightingale, Ralph Waldo Emerson and the family of Amos Bronson Alcott.[1] Lee joined the movement through the Marston family and through Theodore Roosevelt’s role in the Progressive Party. She fought for social and political reform. She encouraged women to vote by campaigning for Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.[4][3] She represented the California Progressive Party at the National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois after they noticed her contributions.[1] By campaigning for Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 she would help women's suffrage and increase women's political rights.[1][2][6][7][8]

In San Diego Lee was a member of First Unitarian Church, Wednesday Club, Civic Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, and other groups for cultural and civic development.[4]

She was also President of the San Diego Museum, the Balboa Park Auditorium Association, and the Balboa Park Commission. She was Honorary Director of the Women's Civic Center and Director of the Natural History Museum.[4]

She founded the Open Forum, a group that was devoted to discuss social, political, and international issues. In 1935 the Open Forum was "oldest continuous non-legislative forum of free public discussion in the United States" and it closed in the 1970s.[4]

She led the "Save the Beaches" campaign whose purpose was to open to public beaches in Southern California (especially San Diego). This campaign was against oil companies who had taken control of said beaches. Lee was also instrumental in developing the public playground system.[1][9] The public playground system kept kids from developing bad habits and instead gave them somewhere to socialize in a healthy manner.[10]

Personal life & LGBTQ+ Significance

Lee and her partner Katherine Teats, shared a home on Seventh Avenue in San Diego from 1902 till Alice's death in 1943, when Katherine continued in their home by herself. Katherine's grand niece, according to San Diego Magazine, said, "the family lore considered the pair to be lesbians."[11]

Together, they lived in the main house of the residence and rented the other two homes on the property. They hosted accuatences like the wife of Grover Cleveland, Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston, and Theodore Roosevelt's, and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt whom they were friends with. Because of these interactions they were also continuous guests at the White House. Theodore Roosevelt and his wife Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, and Frances Folsom Cleveland Preston were often guests at Lee's San Diego home at 7th Ave.[1]

In 1905 they commissioned Hazel Wood Waterman, with the supervision of Irving Gill, to build three residences in San Diego, Alice Lee Residence at 3574 7th Ave, Katherine Teats Cottage at 3560 7th Ave and Alice Lee Cottage at 3578 7th Ave. The compound shared a garden designed by botanist and landscape architect Kate Sessions. Lee and Teats lived in the main house and used the other two for rentals. Teats continued to live at Teats Cottage, a Prairie-style house which Lee granted to her in 1906, until she died in 1952.[1] Their residences are now labeled as historical landmarks.[12]

References
  1. "ITEM 17 – Alice Lee/ Hazel Waterman House" (PDF). The City of San Diego - Historical Resource Board. Retrieved 30 December 2017.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. Women of the West: A Series of Biographical Sketches of Living Eminent Women in the Eleven Western States of the United States of America.
  3. "Glimpses into the Past" (PDF). westportny. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. Binheim, Max; Elvin, Charles A (1928). Women of the West; a series of biographical sketches of living eminent women in the eleven western states of the United States of America. p. 60. Retrieved 8 August 2017.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. "Walking Tour of Westport, New York" (PDF). westportny. Retrieved 30 December 2017.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (2008-08-20). "The Progressive Movement and U.S. Foreign Policy, 1890-1920s". 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  7. "Presidential Election of 1912: A Resource Guide (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)". www.loc.gov. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  8. elisa_rolle (2017-02-18). "Alice Lee (May 27, 1854 - February 18, 1943)". Elisa - My reviews and Ramblings. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  9. Sabin, Paul (2004-12-13), Rousseau, Philip (ed.), "Beaches versus Oil in Southern California", Crude Politics, University of California Press, pp. 52–78, doi:10.1525/california/9780520241985.003.0004, ISBN 978-0-520-24198-5, retrieved 2022-09-27
  10. "How We Came to Play: The History of Playgrounds | National Trust for Historic Preservation". savingplaces.org. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  11. Diego, Randy Dotinga, Voice of San. "Before Gay Meant Gay: Meet San Diego's Early LGBTQ Pioneers". San Diego Magazine. Retrieved 2022-11-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. "The City of San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF).
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