County in Florida, United States
County in Florida
Lee County
is a
county
located in
southwestern Florida
, United States, on the
Gulf Coast
. As of the
2020 census
, its population was 760,822. In 2022, the population was 822,453, making it the eighth-most populous county in the state.
[2]
The
county seat
is
Fort Myers
, with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census,
[3]
and the largest city is
Cape Coral
, with an estimated 2020 population of 194,016.
The county comprises the Cape Coral?Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area (
MSA
), which, along with the
Naples
-
Marco Island
(
Collier County
) MSA and the
Clewiston
(
Hendry County
,
Glades County
) Micropolitan Statistical Area (
μSA
), is included in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples Combined Statistical Area (
CSA
).
[4]
Lee County was established in 1887 from
Monroe County
.
[5]
Fort Myers is the county seat and a center of tourism in Southwest Florida. It is about 120 miles (190 km) south of
Tampa
at the meeting point of the
Gulf of Mexico
and the
Caloosahatchee River
.
[6]
Lee County is the home for spring training of the
Boston Red Sox
and the
Minnesota Twins
Major League Baseball
teams.
History
[
edit
]
Protohistory and European contact (500?1799)
[
edit
]
The area that is now Lee County has several archaeological sites that show evidence of habitation by peoples belonging to the
Caloosahatchee culture
(500 to 1750 AD). By the time of European contact, the area was more specifically occupied by the
Calusa
.
[7]
[8]
After European contact, fishermen from Cuba and other Spanish colonies set up fishing camps, known as
ranchos
in Spanish, on the southern portion of the Gulf Coast of Florida. These
ranchos
extended from
Charlotte Harbor
south to
San Carlos Bay
and the mouth of the Caloosahatchee. Likely established in the latter part of the 1600s, they were precursors to the larger European settlements that would be established in the following centuries.
[9]
As the 18th century came to an end, the Calusa who had once inhabited the area were replaced with the
Seminole
. In particular, in 1799, an Indian agent noted the existence of a Seminole town on the "Cull-oo-saw-hat-che" or Caloosahatchee River.
[10]
Fort established (1850s?1860s)
[
edit
]
After Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, a number of settlers moved into Florida, causing conflict with the local Seminole Indians. Fort Myers was built in 1850 as a military fort to fend off Seminole Indians during the
Seminole Wars
. The fort was named after Col.
Abraham C. Myers
, who was stationed in Florida for seven years and was the son-in-law of the fort's establisher and commander. In 1858, after years of elusive battle, Chief
Billy Bowlegs
and his warriors were persuaded to surrender and move west,
[11]
and the fort was abandoned. Billy's Creek, which flows into the Caloosahatchee River, was named after a temporary camp where Billy Bowlegs and his men awaited ships to take them west. In 1863, the fort was reoccupied by federal troops during
the Civil War
. In 1865, in the
Battle of Fort Myers
, the fort was attacked by a small group of Confederates. The Union's garrison, led by Captain James Doyle, successfully held the fort and the Confederate forces retreated. After the war, the fort was again deserted.
[12]
The fort was later disassembled and some of its wood was used to build parts of downtown Fort Myers.
Settlement and early growth (1860s?1920s)
[
edit
]
During the Civil War, Fort Myers was occupied by federal troops with the intention of disrupting the Confederate cattle supply from Florida. In February 1865, it was the site of the
Battle of Fort Myers
.
[13]
The first settlers in Fort Myers arrived in 1866. In the 1870s, Tervio Padilla, a wealthy merchant from the Canary Islands, came by way of Key West to Cayo Costa and established trade with natives and "ranchos" that extended northward to Charlotte Harbor. His ships often made port at Cayo Costa at the entrance to the harbor. Enchanted by the tropical island, he eventually decided to settle there. Padilla prospered until the outbreak of the
Spanish?American War
, when his fleet was burned and scuttled. He then turned to another means of livelihood ? fishing. When the government claimed his land, he was disinclined to set up another ranch, so moved with his wife further down the island and as before, simply homesteaded. The Padilla family is one of the first pioneer families of Lee County and many still reside within the county, mainly around the Pine Island area.
In 1882, the city experienced a significant influx of settlers. In 1885, when Fort Myers was incorporated,
[14]
its population of 349 residents made it the second-largest city only to Tampa on Florida's west coast south of Cedar Key, even larger than Clearwater and Sarasota, also growing cities at the time.
[15]
[16]
Lee County was formed in 1887 from
Monroe County
, with Fort Myers serving as the county seat.
[5]
It was named for
Robert E. Lee
, Confederate general in the American Civil War.
[17]
Fort Myers first became a nationally known winter resort with the opening of the Royal Palm Hotel in 1898, built by
New York City
department store magnate Hugh O'Neill.
[18]
Fort Myers was the frequent winter home of
Thomas Edison
, as well as
Henry Ford
.
[6]
In 1911, Fort Myers was incorporated as a city.
[19]
In 1923,
Collier
and
Hendry
Counties were created by splitting these areas from Lee County. Construction of the Tamiami Trail Bridge, built across the Caloosahatchee River in 1924, sparked the city's growth. After the bridge's construction, the city experienced its first real estate boom and many subdivisions sprouted around the city.
[18]
In 1927, a property purchased by the City of Fort Myers was turned into an airport, eventually called
Page Field
.
Modern growth (1940s?present)
[
edit
]
| This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
December 2017
)
|
During
World War II
, Page Field served as an advanced fighter training base and home to the several bomber groups. Following the war, a small terminal was built in the mid-1950s as the airport transitioned to commercial use.
[20]
Another airfield was constructed in 1942 called
Buckingham Army Airfield
. The base was closed down in 1945, after which the barracks served as classrooms for Edison College until 1948.
[21]
Following the end of World War II, the Royal Palm Hotel was closed permanently, and in 1947, the hotel on the corner of First and Fowler was torn down.
[18]
Lee County has been the host to several
Major League Baseball
teams for
spring training
over the past several decades.
The county received a boost in 1983 when Southwest Florida Regional Airport (now known as
Southwest Florida International Airport
) opened.
[22]
Hurricanes
[
edit
]
On August 13, 2004, the county was struck by
Hurricane Charley
, a
category 4
storm, particularly on the northwestern islands of
Captiva
,
Gasparilla
, and
North Captiva
. On September 10, 2017, Lee County was struck by
Hurricane Irma
as a
category 2
storm. On September 28, 2022,
Hurricane Ian
made landfall on Lee County as a
category 4
storm, causing major damage to
Sanibel
,
Pine Island
, and surrounding areas.
Sanibel Causeway
partially collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
[23]
71 deaths occurred in Lee County as of October 4.
[24]
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
, the county has a total area of 1,212 square miles (3,140 km
2
), of which 428 square miles (1,110 km
2
) (35.3%) are covered by water.
[25]
Rivers and streams include the
Caloosahatchee River
, the
Imperial River
, the
Estero River
, Hendry Creek, and Orange River. Lee County is on the
southwest coast
of Florida. It is about 125 miles (201 km) south of
Tampa
, 115 miles (185 km) west of
Fort Lauderdale
via
Interstate 75
, and roughly 125 miles (201 km) west-northwest of
Miami
via
U.S. Highway 41
.
Adjacent counties
[
edit
]
National protected areas
[
edit
]
Islands
[
edit
]
Climate
[
edit
]
Lee County has a year-round warm,
monsoon
-influenced climate that is close to the boundary between tropical and subtropical climates (18 °C (64 °F) in the coldest month), thus is either classified as a
humid subtropical climate
(
Koppen
Cfa
), which is the classification used by
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
,
[26]
[a]
or a
tropical savanna climate
(Koppen
Aw
).
[27]
Lee County has short, warm winters, and long, hot, humid summers, with most of the year's rainfall occurring from June to September. The temperature rarely rises to 100 °F (38 °C) or lowers to the freezing mark.
[28]
At 89, Lee County leads the nation in the number of days annually in which a thunderstorm is close enough for thunder to be heard.
[29]
The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 64.2 °F (17.9 °C) in January to 83.4 °F (28.6 °C) in August, with the annual mean being 75.1 °F (23.9 °C). Records range from 24 °F (?4 °C) on
December 29, 1894
up to 103 °F (39 °C) on June 16?17, 1981.
[28]
Climate data for Fort Myers, Florida (
Page Field
), 1981?2010 normals
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Record high °F (°C)
|
90
(32)
|
92
(33)
|
93
(34)
|
96
(36)
|
99
(37)
|
103
(39)
|
101
(38)
|
100
(38)
|
98
(37)
|
95
(35)
|
95
(35)
|
90
(32)
|
103
(39)
|
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)
|
74.7
(23.7)
|
77.2
(25.1)
|
80.4
(26.9)
|
84.6
(29.2)
|
89.4
(31.9)
|
91.5
(33.1)
|
91.9
(33.3)
|
91.8
(33.2)
|
90.5
(32.5)
|
86.7
(30.4)
|
81.3
(27.4)
|
76.6
(24.8)
|
84.7
(29.3)
|
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)
|
53.7
(12.1)
|
55.9
(13.3)
|
59.4
(15.2)
|
63.1
(17.3)
|
68.7
(20.4)
|
73.5
(23.1)
|
74.5
(23.6)
|
74.9
(23.8)
|
74.3
(23.5)
|
69.1
(20.6)
|
62.0
(16.7)
|
56.4
(13.6)
|
65.5
(18.6)
|
Record low °F (°C)
|
27
(?3)
|
27
(?3)
|
33
(1)
|
39
(4)
|
50
(10)
|
58
(14)
|
66
(19)
|
65
(18)
|
63
(17)
|
45
(7)
|
34
(1)
|
24
(?4)
|
24
(?4)
|
Average rainfall inches (mm)
|
1.89
(48)
|
2.13
(54)
|
2.84
(72)
|
2.02
(51)
|
2.72
(69)
|
10.28
(261)
|
9.14
(232)
|
10.21
(259)
|
8.55
(217)
|
2.67
(68)
|
1.92
(49)
|
1.69
(43)
|
56.06
(1,424)
|
Average rainy days
(≥ 0.01 in)
|
5.5
|
5.2
|
6.2
|
4.2
|
6.8
|
16.0
|
17.6
|
17.9
|
15.4
|
6.8
|
4.4
|
4.5
|
110.5
|
Source: NOAA (extremes 1892?present)
[28]
|
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1890
| 1,414
| [30]
| ?
|
---|
1900
| 3,071
| [30]
[31]
| 117.2%
|
---|
1910
| 6,294
| [30]
[31]
| 104.9%
|
---|
1920
| 9,540
| [30]
[31]
| 51.6%
|
---|
1930
| 14,990
| [30]
[31]
| 57.1%
|
---|
1940
| 17,488
| [30]
[31]
| 16.7%
|
---|
1950
| 23,404
| [30]
[31]
| 33.8%
|
---|
1960
| 54,539
| [30]
[31]
| 133.0%
|
---|
1970
| 105,216
| [31]
| 92.9%
|
---|
1980
| 205,266
| [31]
| 95.1%
|
---|
1990
| 335,113
| [31]
[32]
| 63.3%
|
---|
2000
| 440,888
| [32]
| 31.6%
|
---|
2010
| 618,754
| [33]
| 40.3%
|
---|
2020
| 760,822
| [34]
[1]
| 23.0%
|
---|
2023 (est.)
| 834,573
| [35]
| 9.7%
|
2020 Census
[
edit
]
Lee County racial composition as of 2020
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
[b]
Race
|
Pop 2010
[37]
|
Pop 2020
[38]
|
% 2010
|
% 2020
|
White
(NH)
|
439,048
|
490,476
|
70.96%
|
64.47%
|
Black or African American
(NH)
|
47,751
|
55,958
|
7.72%
|
7.35%
|
Native American
or
Alaska Native
(NH)
|
1,292
|
1,228
|
0.21%
|
0.16%
|
Asian
(NH)
|
8,252
|
12,789
|
1.33%
|
1.68%
|
Pacific Islander
(NH)
|
197
|
244
|
0.03%
|
0.03%
|
Some other race (NH)
|
1,581
|
3,974
|
0.26%
|
0.52%
|
Mixed/multiracial
(NH)
|
7,325
|
22,992
|
1.18%
|
3.02%
|
Hispanic or Latino
|
113,308
|
173,161
|
18.31%
|
22.76%
|
Total
|
618,754
|
760,822
|
|
|
As of the
2020 United States census
, 760,822 people, 288,916 households, and 187,877 families resided in the county. About 4.6% of that population was under 5 years old, 17.3% was under 18, and 29.2% was 65 or older; 51.0% was female; 89.3% was 25 years or older were high-school graduates and 28.5% of those 25 years or older had a bachelor's degree or higher.
The median household income was $59,608 with a per capita income of $34,818. About 10.5% of population below the
poverty threshold
. The median value of owner-occupied housing units between 2016 and 2020 was $235,300 and the median gross rent was $1,225. Around 94.2% of the households had a computer and 87.2% of households had a broadband internet subscription.
Languages
[
edit
]
As of 2010, 78.99% of residents spoke English as their first language, and 15.19% spoke Spanish, 1.28% French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole,) 0.88% German, 0.59% Portuguese, and 0.55% spoke French as their main language.
[39]
In total, 21.01% of the population spoke languages other than English as their primary language.
[39]
Economy
[
edit
]
Lee County's stronger economic sectors include construction, retail, leisure, and hospitality.
[40]
Hertz moved its headquarters from New Jersey to Estero in 2016, the first major corporation to relocate to Lee County.
[41]
The largest employers in Lee County as of 2019 are:
[42]
[43]
Rank
|
Employer
|
Employees
|
1
|
Lee Health
|
13,595
|
2
|
Lee County School District
|
12,936
|
3
|
Lee County government
|
9,038
|
4
|
Publix Supermarkets
|
4,624
|
5
|
Florida Gulf Coast University
|
3,430
|
6
|
Walmart
|
3,067
|
7
|
City of Cape Coral
|
2,253
|
8
|
Hope Hospice
|
1,630
|
9
|
McDonald's
|
1,482
|
10
|
Florida SouthWestern State College
|
1,441
|
Law enforcement and crime
[
edit
]
Law enforcement agency
Lee County Sheriff's Office
|
---|
Abbreviation
| LCSO
|
---|
Motto
| "Proud To Serve"
|
---|
|
Formed
| 1887
|
---|
Employees
| 1700
|
---|
Annual budget
| $241,322,563 (2022)
|
---|
|
General nature
| |
---|
|
Headquarters
| Fort Myers, Florida
|
---|
Agency executive
| |
---|
|
Aircraft
| 5
|
---|
|
www
.sheriffleefl
.org
|
The Lee County Sheriff's Office is the primary
law enforcement
agency for
Lee County, Florida
headquartered in
Fort Myers, Florida
.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office responds to all calls for service within unincorporated Lee County and employs civilian dispatchers who provide dispatch for LCSO Deputies and Florida Southwestern State College Police. The
Cape Coral Police Department
,
Fort Myers Police Department
, Sanibel Police Department and Lee County Port Authority Police maintain their own police dispatch centers.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office is also responsible for corrections, court operations, and civil proceedings. There are multiple specialized units within the agency including Aviation, K9, SOU, Fugitive Warrants, Marine, Electronic Surveillance, and Tactical Narcotics Teams.
Education
[
edit
]
Colleges in Lee County include
Florida Gulf Coast University
(FGCU),
Barry University
,
Nova Southeastern University
,
Florida SouthWestern State College
, Cape Coral Technical College, Fort Myers Technical College,
[44]
Hodges University
,
Keiser University
,
Southern Technical College
, and
Rasmussen College
.
FGCU is a public university located just south of the
Southwest Florida International Airport
in South Fort Myers. The university belongs to the 12-campus
State University System of Florida
. FGCU competes in the
ASUN Conference
in
NCAA
Division I
sports. The school is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
to award
associate's
, 51 different types of
bachelor's
, 29 different
master's
, and six types of
doctoral
degrees.
[45]
Parks and recreation
[
edit
]
The parks are maintained by the county's Parks & Recreation Department. The department also maintains
spring training
facilities for the
Boston Red Sox
and
Minnesota Twins
.
[46]
Beaches
[
edit
]
Some of the main tourist attractions in Southwest Florida are its beaches. Lee County is home to ten beach parks and an additional seven beach accesses, maintained by Lee County Parks & Recreation.
[47]
Popular beaches include Fort Myers Beach,
[48]
Sanibel and Captiva Island,
[49]
Bonita Beach, Bunchee Beach,
[50]
and Lovers Key.
[51]
Libraries
[
edit
]
The
Lee County Library System
has 13 branches.
[52]
The towns of Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, though located in Lee County, maintain their own independent public library entities.
[53]
The Lee County Library System currently provides more than 294,000 county residents with over 1.5 million items and materials available for use or patron circulation, as well as an online library materials catalog, free wi-fi, public computer access, and scanning and printing capabilities.
[54]
Politics
[
edit
]
Unlike most urban counties, Lee County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. It was one of the first areas of Florida to break away from a Solid South voting pattern. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the county was
Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1944. Since then,
Adlai Stevenson II
,
Lyndon Johnson
,
Jimmy Carter
and
Barack Obama
have been the only Democrats to manage 40 percent of the vote.
Lee County is represented in the
United States House of Representatives
by
Byron Donalds
of the
19th district
and by
Greg Steube
of the
17th district
. Most of the county is in the 19th, while the far eastern portion is in the 17th.
United States presidential election results for Lee County, Florida
[55]
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
233,247
|
59.09%
|
157,695
|
39.95%
|
3,816
|
0.97%
|
2016
|
191,551
|
58.12%
|
124,908
|
37.90%
|
13,095
|
3.97%
|
2012
|
154,163
|
57.83%
|
110,157
|
41.32%
|
2,278
|
0.85%
|
2008
|
147,608
|
54.67%
|
119,701
|
44.34%
|
2,668
|
0.99%
|
2004
|
144,176
|
59.91%
|
93,860
|
39.00%
|
2,631
|
1.09%
|
2000
|
106,151
|
57.57%
|
73,571
|
39.90%
|
4,678
|
2.54%
|
1996
|
80,898
|
48.75%
|
65,699
|
39.59%
|
19,354
|
11.66%
|
1992
|
73,436
|
44.24%
|
53,660
|
32.32%
|
38,906
|
23.44%
|
1988
|
87,303
|
67.71%
|
40,725
|
31.59%
|
908
|
0.70%
|
1984
|
85,024
|
73.89%
|
30,022
|
26.09%
|
30
|
0.03%
|
1980
|
61,033
|
64.51%
|
28,125
|
29.73%
|
5,455
|
5.77%
|
1976
|
38,038
|
54.50%
|
30,567
|
43.80%
|
1,184
|
1.70%
|
1972
|
36,738
|
79.46%
|
9,404
|
20.34%
|
93
|
0.20%
|
1968
|
14,376
|
46.23%
|
7,978
|
25.66%
|
8,741
|
28.11%
|
1964
|
12,886
|
55.81%
|
10,204
|
44.19%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1960
|
10,357
|
65.34%
|
5,494
|
34.66%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1956
|
7,565
|
62.60%
|
4,520
|
37.40%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1952
|
5,528
|
59.09%
|
3,828
|
40.91%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1948
|
2,276
|
39.26%
|
1,883
|
32.48%
|
1,638
|
28.26%
|
1944
|
1,865
|
35.74%
|
3,353
|
64.26%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1940
|
1,622
|
31.48%
|
3,531
|
68.52%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1936
|
1,137
|
30.85%
|
2,549
|
69.15%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1932
|
973
|
27.56%
|
2,557
|
72.44%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1928
|
2,058
|
63.17%
|
1,154
|
35.42%
|
46
|
1.41%
|
1924
|
552
|
34.03%
|
845
|
52.10%
|
225
|
13.87%
|
1920
|
626
|
36.95%
|
938
|
55.37%
|
130
|
7.67%
|
1916
|
167
|
14.75%
|
751
|
66.34%
|
214
|
18.90%
|
1912
|
38
|
5.32%
|
432
|
60.50%
|
244
|
34.17%
|
1908
|
72
|
13.51%
|
266
|
49.91%
|
195
|
36.59%
|
1904
|
84
|
17.04%
|
266
|
53.96%
|
143
|
29.01%
|
1900
|
39
|
11.40%
|
278
|
81.29%
|
25
|
7.31%
|
1896
|
74
|
23.72%
|
222
|
71.15%
|
16
|
5.13%
|
1892
|
0
|
0.00%
|
153
|
96.23%
|
6
|
3.77%
|
Voter demographics
[
edit
]
As of April 30, 2024.
[56]
Voter registration and party membership
|
Party
|
Number of voters
|
Percentage
|
|
Republican
|
225,124
|
47.2%
|
|
No party affiliation
|
129,760
|
27.2%
|
|
Democratic
|
109,297
|
22.9%
|
|
Minor parties
|
12,359
|
2.6%
|
Total
|
476,540
|
100.0%
|
Transportation
[
edit
]
Airports
[
edit
]
- Southwest Florida International Airport
(
IATA airport code
- RSW), in South Fort Myers, serves over 8.37 million passengers annually.
[22]
Currently, the airport offers international non-stop flights to Cancun, Mexico; Frankfurt, Germany; Nassau, Bahamas; and Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto in Canada. In addition, nine airlines operate flights to 29 domestic nonstop destinations. On September 9, 2005, the airport opened a new terminal.
- Page Field
(IATA airport code - FMY), also in South Fort Myers, just south of the incorporated limits of the City of Fort Myers, is the county's general aviation airport. Prior to the opening of Southwest Florida Regional Airport in 1983 (now Southwest Florida International Airport), Page Field was the county's commercial airport.
Seaports and marine transport
[
edit
]
A small
port
operation continues in
Boca Grande
, being used as a way-point for oil distribution. However, Port Boca Grande has been in decline for many years as the shipping industry has moved north, especially to the
Port of Tampa
.
In addition, a private enterprise operates a high-speed, passenger-only
ferry
service between
Fort Myers Beach
from San Carlos Island and
Key West
. Another ferry service is offered from Fort Myers to Key West.
Major highways
[
edit
]
|
Interstate 75
|
The county's only fully controlled-access
freeway
, and has 10
interchanges
within Lee County, linking the area to
Naples
, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami to the south and east; and
Sarasota
and Tampa to the north. The freeway is at least six lanes throughout Lee County and is up to eight lanes in some areas.
|
|
U.S. Route 41
Tamiami Trail
Cleveland Avenue
|
US 41 runs the length of Lee County, and is the county's main north?south arterial highway. It is a major commercial corridor, running as an
elevated highway
through the center of downtown Fort Myers, continuing south as a multilane, divided-surface highway through the communities of South Fort Myers, San Carlos Park, Estero, and Bonita Springs. From north-to-south, the highway's name starts as "North
Tamiami Trail
", changes to "Cleveland Avenue" from the Caloosahatchee River to State Road 884 (Colonial Boulevard) in the City of Fort Myers; then it is called "South Cleveland Avenue" from Colonial Boulevard to
County Road 876 (Daniels Parkway)
, and then changes to South Tamiami Trail until the border with Collier County.
|
|
State Road 80
Palm Beach Boulevard
|
SR 80's western terminus is in downtown Fort Myers. The multilane highway runs east-northeast along the southern banks of the Caloosahatchee River as "Palm Beach Boulevard" within the county, traversing the state of Florida to connect the area with
LaBelle
,
Clewiston
, and
West Palm Beach
.
|
|
State Road 82
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Immokalee Road
|
SR 82's western terminus is in downtown Fort Myers. The highway is called "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard" within the incorporated limits of the City of Fort Myers, becoming "Immokalee Road" as it passes through Lehigh Acres and connects the area to
Immokalee
.
|
|
State Road 884
Veterans Memorial Parkway
Colonial Boulevard
Lee Boulevard
|
SR 884 is Lee County's main east?west arterial highway. Its western terminus is in the incorporated limits of the City of Cape Coral and the eastern terminus is in Lehigh Acres. Within Cape Coral, the highway is named "Veterans' Memorial Parkway", and is a multilane, controlled-access highway. Within Fort Myers, it is named "Colonial Boulevard". The road crosses the Caloosahatchee River as an elevated highway across a
toll bridge
, interchanging with U.S. Highway 41 and Interstate 75, then becomes a multilane, divided-surface highway through Lehigh Acres. After it intersects with State Road 82, it is called "Lee Boulevard".
|
Major road bridges
[
edit
]
- Caloosahatchee Bridge
(U.S. Highway 41): 4-travel-lane single-span bridge connects North Fort Myers with Fort Myers, over the Caloosahatchee River.
- Cape Coral Bridge
(College Parkway/Cape Coral Parkway): 4-travel-lane single-span bridge (two eastbound, two westbound) connect Cape Coral with Cypress Lake, over the Caloosahatchee River.
- Edison Bridge
(
State Road 739
): Two 3-travel-lane spans (one northbound, one southbound) connect North Fort Myers with Fort Myers, over the Caloosahatchee River.
- Interstate 75
: Two 4-travel-lane spans (one northbound, one southbound) between the
State Road 78
("Bayshore Road") and State Road 80 ("Palm Beach Boulevard") interchanges, over the Caloosahatchee River.
- Matanzas Pass Bridge
(
State Road 865
): 3-travel-lane single-span bridge crosses Hurricane Bay and Matanzas Pass within the incorporated limits of the Town of Fort Myers Beach, connecting the mainland to the barrier islands.
- Sanibel Causeway
: series of three 2-travel-lane single-span bridges and two 3-travel-lane island
causeways
crossing the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River at the
Gulf of Mexico
. The causeway connects Punta Rassa with Sanibel.
- Wilson Pigott Bridge
(
State Road 31
): 2-travel-lane single-span drawbridge between State Road 78 ("Bayshore Road") and State Road 80, over the Caloosahatchee River.
Mass transportation
[
edit
]
Fixed-route
bus
service is provided by the
Lee County Transit Department
, operated as "
LeeTran
". Several routes extend outward from the Downtown
Intermodal Transfer Center
; in addition, suburb-to-suburb routes are operated, as well as
park-and-ride
service to and from both Fort Myers Beach and Southwest Florida International Airport.
The Downtown Intermodal Transfer Center in Fort Myers also serves as an intermediate stop on
Greyhound Lines
bus service.
Media
[
edit
]
Newspapers
[
edit
]
Newspapers include
The News-Press
and Florida Weekly
.
Radio
[
edit
]
Arbitron
standard radio market: Ft Myers-Naples-
Marco Island
.
[57]
With an Arbitron-assigned 783,100 listening area population, the metropolitan area ranks 62/299 for the fall of 2006. The metropolitan area is home to 32
radio stations
.
Television
[
edit
]
Nielsen Media Research
designated market area
: Ft. Myers-Naples
[58]
Number of TV homes: 479,130
2006?2007
U.S.
rank: 64/210
Sports
[
edit
]
Club
|
Sport
|
League
|
Tier
|
Venue (capacity)
|
Florida Everblades
|
Ice hockey
|
ECHL
|
Mid-level
|
Hertz Arena
,
Estero
(7,181)
|
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
|
Baseball
|
Florida State League
|
Class A
|
Hammond Stadium
, S. Fort Myers (7,500)
|
Boston Red Sox
|
Baseball
|
Major League Baseball
|
Spring training
|
JetBlue Park
at
Fenway South
, Fort Myers (11,000)
|
Minnesota Twins
|
Baseball
|
Major League Baseball
|
Spring training
|
Hammond Stadium, S. Fort Myers (7,500)
|
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
|
Basketball
|
ASUN Conference
|
Division I (NCAA)
|
Alico Arena
, Fort Myers (4,500)
|
Fort Myers is home to
Florida Gulf Coast University
. Its teams, the
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
, play in NCAA Division I in the
ASUN Conference
. The Eagles' men's basketball team had an average attendance of 2,291 in 2013.
[59]
MLB spring training
[
edit
]
The
Boston Red Sox
hold their annual spring training at
JetBlue Park
at
Fenway South
in the Fort Myers area. A cross-town rivalry has developed with the
Minnesota Twins
, which conduct their spring training at
Hammond Stadium
in south Lee County, which has a capacity of 7,500 and opened in 1991.
The Red Sox' lease with Fort Myers ran through 2019, but the Red Sox were considering exercising the early out in their contract that would have allowed them to leave following the 2009 spring season. On October 28, 2008, the Lee County commission voted 3?1 to approve an agreement with the Boston Red Sox to build a new spring-training facility for the team in south Lee County. That stadium, named JetBlue Park at Fenway South, is located off Daniels Parkway near Southwest Florida International Airport. The stadium opened in time for the 2012 season.
City of Palms Park
had been built in 1992 for the Red Sox' spring training. Former Red Sox left fielder
Mike Greenwell
is from Fort Myers, and was instrumental in bringing his team to the city for spring training.
[60]
The deal for JetBlue Park left City of Palms Park without a tenant. County officials have discussed the possibility of securing another team for City of Palms.
Terry Park Ballfield
(also known as the Park T. Pigott Memorial Stadium) in East Fort Myers is also not currently in use by a Major League Baseball team, though it is the former home of the
Philadelphia Athletics
,
Cleveland Indians
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
, and
Kansas City Royals
.
Communities
[
edit
]
Cities
[
edit
]
Town
[
edit
]
Village
[
edit
]
Municipal district
[
edit
]
Census-designated places
[
edit
]
Other unincorporated communities
[
edit
]
CDP'S and Unincorporated Communities
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The NOAA document used classifies locations as warm as Newport News, Virginia, as "continental", but areas with drastically more extreme climates, such as Wichita, Kansas, as "subtropical".
- ^
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
[36]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Quickfacts Lee County"
.
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. July 1, 2021
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2022
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. Retrieved
April 12,
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.
- ^
"Explore Census Data"
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data.census.gov
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2022
.
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(PDF)
.
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July 21,
2023
.
- ^
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b
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- ^
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b
Jane Colihan
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- ^
Marquardt, William (July 2010).
"Shell Mounds in the Southeast: Middens, Monuments, Temple Mounds, Rings, or Works?"
.
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doi
:
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.
JSTOR
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- ^
Brown, Robin (1994).
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- ^
Hammond, E.A. (April 1973).
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Covington, James W. 1993.
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ISBN
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- ^
Grismer, K.H. (1984).
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- ^
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, www.fortmyers.org.
- ^
"Downtown | Fort Myers, FL - Official Website"
.
- ^
Gannett, Henry (1905).
The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States
. U.S. Government Printing Office. p.
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.
- ^
a
b
c
"Remembering the first tourist attraction in Fort Myers"
, News-Press, February 13, 2016.
- ^
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- ^
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. Lee County Port Authority
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2022
.
- ^
"History of the Buckingham Airfield"
. Lee County Mosquito Control District
. Retrieved
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2022
.
- ^
a
b
"SOUTHWEST FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (RSW) TOTAL PASSENGERS"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on June 15, 2016.
- ^
Andone, Paul P. Murphy,Rebekah Riess,Dakin (September 29, 2022).
"Sanibel and Captiva islands cut off from Florida mainland after Ian's 'biblical' storm surge washes away three parts of Sanibel Causeway"
.
CNN
. Retrieved
September 29,
2022
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Seaver, Matthew (March 23, 2023).
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.
Wink News
. McBride Family
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.
- ^
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(PDF)
. Archived from
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(PDF)
on July 23, 2014
. Retrieved
March 30,
2014
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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)
- ^
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on March 25, 2009
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
a
b
c
"NowData ? NOAA Online Weather Data"
.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Weather Variety ? Annual Days With Thunderstorms"
. Weatherpages.com. Archived from
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on February 20, 2012
. Retrieved
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2012
.
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a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"Historical Census Browser"
. University of Virginia Library
. Retrieved
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2014
.
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a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
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. Retrieved
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2014
.
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a
b
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(PDF)
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"State & County QuickFacts"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
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2014
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2022"
.
County Population Totals: 2020-2022
. U.S. Census Bureau. March 30, 2023
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023"
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
data.census.gov
. Retrieved
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.
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a
b
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. Modern Language Association
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Employers hire as Lee County booms"
, News Press, Casey Logan, December 22, 2016.
- ^
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, News Press, May 9, 2015.
- ^
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, News Press, Wendy Fullerton Powell, August 30, 2016.
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on January 4, 2022
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on April 24, 2014
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.
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.
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.
- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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- ^
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
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. Retrieved
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2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
Places adjacent to Lee County, Florida
|
---|
|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
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Geographic
| |
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Other
| |
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