The site of Marianna was acquired through a deed from Mary Ann Harland and the heirs of her first husband, Daniel Martin, and the town was named in her memory. She was born in Kentucky on May 6, 1802, and died on October 25, 1857. The first courthouse in Lee County was erected in Marianna soon after the permanent seat of justice was located there in 1873. The county was named for the Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee.