C. Lee Smith

Clarence Lee Smith (1898-1977) was an Oneida businessman who served as the town’s mayor from 1941 to 1947 and again from 1949 to 1955.

See Also: Mayors of Oneida
Preceded By: Archie Newport • Succeeded By: J.D. Caldwell
Preceded By: J.D. Caldwell • Succeeded By: Eugene McDonald

Early Life

Born Dec. 28, 1898, C. Lee Smith was the son of Henry Clay Smith (1865-1934) and Phylana Lucinda Terry Smith (1868-1939). He was one of 15 children, which included 10 boys and five girls. His brother was historian Henry Clay Smith, who wrote Dusty Bits of the Forgotten Past.

The Smith family lived in the Coopertown area of West Oneida and were primarily a family of educators. Henry C. Smith Sr. served a stint as principal of Burchfield School.

Smith married Sallie Smith (1896-1962) and they had two children: daughter Odgie Lee Smith (1921-1935) and a son who died in infancy in 1936. Odgie died of meningitis at the age of 14 in 1935.

Oneida Mayor

Smith was elected mayor of Oneida in 1941, and was subsequently re-elected in 1943 and 1945. He was replaced by J.D. Caldwell in 1947, and then was re-elected in 1949. He was re-elected in 1951 and 1953. He served a total of 12 years in office and has the distinction of being the only mayor in Oneida’s history to serve a split term.

The primary accomplishment of Smith’s tenure in Oneida was the establishment of Scott County Hospital. Construction began on the hospital in November 1954. It opened on Jan. 15, 1956, just weeks after Smith left office.

Smith also presided over the town’s acquisition of the Oneida Water Company, which had been created by a coalition of Oneida businessmen led by Fayette Cooper.

Death

Smith died on May 18, 1977. He was buried at Marcum Cemetery. His wife had also been buried there in 1962.