William S. Lee

Mr. Lee was born in Lancaster, S.C., in 1872. He graduated from The Citadel with a degree in engineering in 1894 and served in the engineer corps during the Spanish-American War. He helped found Southern Power Co. (later Duke Power) in 1904 and became its first Chief Engineer. He also operated an independent consulting firm, the William States Lee Engineering Corporation, with offices in New York and Charlotte, N.C. Lee designed and supervised construction of at least 32 hydro-electric power stations throughout the Carolinas during the 1910s and 1920s. Mr. Lee was named an original Trustee of The Duke Endowment. He died in Charlotte, N.C. on March 24, 1934. Mr. Lee and Mr. Duke are seen as key figures in the 20th century development of the Carolinas. “We wouldn’t be who we are without William States Lee and James Buchanan Duke and Duke Energy,” said Charlotte historian Dan Morrill. “They transformed the two Carolinas.”