Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers is the county seat of Lee County. It was built in 1850 after the Third Seminole War on the site of Fort Harvie. Fort Harvie was later named for Colonel Abraham Charles Myers, then chief quartermaster in Florida. Col. Myers was the son-in-law of the general who was in charge of the U.S. forces in Florida. Col. Myers never visited the fort named for him. Following the end of the Third Seminole War (1858), the fort was used again during the Civil War. Although Florida was a Confederate state, Fort Myers was a Union fort, one of only four in Florida. Fort Myers is located along the Caloosahatchee River just 15 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Caloosahatchee River, meaning "The River of the Caloosa," an early Florida Indian tribe, is the western terminus of the cross-state Okeechobee Intercoastal Waterway linking the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Fort Myers, often referred to as the "City of Palms," was made famous by the late Thomas Alva Edison, who first came to Fort Myers in 1885. Edison established residency in Fort Myers and spent several winters in his waterfront estate along the Caloosahatchee River. Fort Myers offers several entertainment opportunities. Visitors to the city are attracted to the Thomas A. Edison Henry Ford Winter Homes. Together they received approximately 500,000 visitors each year. The Historical Museum, the Harborside Convention Hall, the Arcade Theater and the City of Palms Park are other attractions to the downtown area.