Clermont Huger Lee (March 4, 1914 – June 14, 2006) was a landscape architect from
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
, most known for her work designing gardens and parks for historical landmarks in the state.
Specifically, Lee is known for her designs such as the
Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace,
Isaiah Davenport House and
Owens–Thomas House.
Lee assisted in founding of the Georgia State Board of Landscape Architects, which serves as a licensing board for landscape architects throughout Georgia.
She is considered one of the first women to establish their own private architecture practice in Georgia and was inducted into the
Georgia Women of Achievement in 2017
and
Savannah College of Art and Design's Savannah Women of Vision on February 14, 2020. SCAD honors Lee with a gold relief in its Arnold hall.
Early life and education
Lee was born in 1914 in Savannah, Georgia.
Lee's father, Lawrence Lee,
M.D.
A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...
, worked as a physician and her mother, Clermont Kinloch Huger Lee, was a gardener.
She was the oldest sibling with two younger brothers, Lawrence Jr. and Moultrie. She went to school in both the former Pape School in Savannah and
Ashley Hall in
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, where she graduated in 1932. She went on to attend
Barnard College
Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
in New York City for two years.
Lee transferred from Barnard College to
Smith College
Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
in
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...
, where she received a bachelor's degree in Landscape Architecture in 1936.
She then attended the Smith College
Graduate School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, where she earned her Masters of Landscape Architecture in 1939.
Career
Historic residential gardens
Clermont Huger Lee began working with historic gardens in 1940 after completing designs for a garden at the
Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation in
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...
.
Lee established her private practice in 1949, and the following year she began working on historic landscapes.
It was in this time that Lee completed the renovations of various landmarks such as the
Owens–Thomas House, the
Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace, the
Andrew Low House
The Andrew Low House is a home in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Located at 329 Abercorn Street, in Lafayette Square (Savannah, Georgia), Lafayette Square, it was built by John S. Norris in 1849 and is part of the Savannah Historic District (S ...
and the
Green–Meldrim House.
Lee developed a master plan for
Jekyll Island
Jekyll Island is an island located in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. It is one of the Sea Islands and one of the Golden Isles of Georgia barrier islands. The island is owned by the State of Georgia and run by a self-sustaining, self-g ...
in 1967–1968 with the goal to restore the area known as "Millionaire's Village" to its 1910–1929 era. Though not fully implemented, Lee's plans served as a foundation in the redevelopment of today's
Jekyll Island Historic District.
[
]
Savannah historic squares
From 1951 to 1972, Lee partnered with the president of the Citizens & Southern National Bank, Mills B. Lane Jr. Alongside Lane, Lee renovated homes of historic significance along the northeast part of Savannah.
Lee suggested rounding the entrance curves to squares instead of destroying the squares with driveways. After several meetings, the city accepted this proposal, leaving the places intact. The spaces designed by Lee remain unchanged.
Awards
Clermont Huger Lee has received two significant post humus awards and recognition.
Lee shares these two honors with Flannery O’Connor and Juliette Gordon Low, both of whose childhood home gardens Lee worked on. On February 12, 2020, U.S. House of Representative Buddy Carter honored Clermont Lee, fellow Women of Vision inductee Suzanne Shank, and other's on the house floor in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
References
External links
Clermont Lee Collection of Architectural Drawings dating from 1940-1989
by Digital Library of Georgia
The Digital Library of Georgia (DLG) is an online public collection of documents and media about the history and culture of the state of Georgia, United States. The collection includes more than a million digitized objects from more than 200 Georgi ...
and Georgia Historical Society
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...
The Clermont Lee Collection
at the Georgia Historical Society
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Clermont Huger
1914 births
2006 deaths
Barnard College alumni
Smith College alumni
American women landscape architects
People from Savannah, Georgia
American landscape architects
20th-century American women
20th-century American people
21st-century American women