In an election to determine the county seat, Opelika was chosen over Auburn and Salem.

To prevent the new town of Phenix City from straddling the Lee-Russell line, Lee County ceded to Russell County the 10 square miles (25.9 km2) in the southeastern corner surrounding Phenix City in exchange for 20 square miles (51.8 km2) in the northwest corner of Russell County surrounding the unincorporated community of Marvyn.

On March 3, 2019, a series of tornadoes hit the county, killing 23 people and injuring others.

The deaths and injuries occurred in the community of Beauregard, situated southeast of the Auburn-Opelika metropolitan area.

[4] The county straddles the fall line between the Piedmont region to the north, and the Gulf coastal plain to the south.

Among the principal governmental functions vested in Alabama counties are law enforcement; tax assessment, levy and collection; administration of decedent's estates and probate matters; maintenance of real and personal property title records; construction and maintenance of public roads and bridges; and maintenance of the county courthouse, which provides office space for various county officials and departments.

It is governed by a six-member county commission, composed of the Probate Judge and five commissioners.

The Probate Judge is elected countywide for a six-year term and serves as chairman of the commission.

The County Administrator is also responsible for the supervision and management of various department heads, and for ensuring that all agreements, leases and other contractual obligations of the commission are properly performed.

The last Democrat to garner over 40 percent of the county's vote was Jimmy Carter in both of his election campaigns in 1976 and 1980.

However, Bill Clinton tallied over 38 percent of the county's vote in both of his successful runs for president, as did Barack Obama in both of his campaigns.

Lee County is home to Auburn University, a large comprehensive public university, and Southern Union State Community College, a two-year degree and technical college.

Lee County is home to Auburn University Museum of Natural History, Chewacla State Park, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Bean's Mill, the Salem-Shotwell Covered Bridge and the Grand National Golf course which is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.