Fort Myers, Florida
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| Fort Myers, Florida | |
| Fort Myers | |
| Nickname: City of Palms | |
| Location in Lee County and the state of Florida | |
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| State | Image:Flag of Florida.svg Florida |
| County | Lee |
| Founded | March 24, 1886 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Jim Humphrey |
| Area | |
| - City | 40.4 sq mi (104.7 km²) |
| - Land | 31.8 sq mi (82.4 km²) |
| - Water | 8.6 sq mi (82.4 km²) 21.25% |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - City | 60,531 |
| - Density | 1,514.6/sq mi (505.3/km²) |
| - Metro | 544,758 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 33900-33999 |
| Area code(s) | 239 |
| FIPS code | 12-24125GR2 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0282700GR3 |
| Website: http://www.cityftmyers.com | |
Fort Myers is the county seatGR6 and commercial center of Lee County, Florida. The population was 48,208 at the 2000 census. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau's Estimates, the city had a population of 60,531. [1]
The city is one of two major cities that make up the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA, the other being Cape Coral. As of July 1, 2006, the population estimate for the metropolitan area was 571,344.[2]
Established in 1886, Fort Myers is the historical and governmental hub of Lee County. It is the gateway to the Southwest Florida region, which is a major tourist destination in Florida. The winter homes of Thomas Edison (Seminole Lodge) and Henry Ford (The Mangoes), which are both primary tourist attractions in the region, are located on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers.
On August 13, 2004, Fort Myers was hit hard by Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall north of the area. In 2005, Hurricane Wilma struck south of Naples, but caused extensive damage nonetheless in Fort Myers and its southern suburbs.
Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is located southeast of the city in South Fort Myers, near Gateway and Lehigh Acres.
Contents |
[edit] History
Incorporated in 1886, Fort Myers is the center of a popular tourist area in Southwest Florida and the seat of Lee County. It is located about 120 miles south of Tampa at the meeting point of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caloosahatchee River. Fort Myers was the frequent winter home of Thomas Edison and is the current home of the Boston Red Sox spring training camp.
Fort Myers, built in 1850 as a military fort to fend off Seminole Indians that were massacring the area's few settlers, 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, and the fort was abandoned. Billy's Creek, which flows into the Caloosahatchee River and runs between The Beau Rivage Condominiums and Alta Mar, was named after a temporary camp where Billy Bowlegs and his men awaited ships to take them west.
The fort was abandoned until 1863 when a small number of Federal troops re-occupied the fort during the Civil War. In 1865 the fort was attacked unsuccessfully by a very small group of Confederates. After the war, the fort was again deserted.
The first settlers arrived in 1866, but it wasn't until 1882 when the city experienced a significant influx of settlers. By 1885, when Fort Myers was incorporated, it was 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.
Fort Myers first became a nationally known winter resort with the building of The Royal Palm Hotel in 1898. But what really sparked the city's growth was the construction of the Tamiami Trail Bridge built across the Caloosahatchee River in 1924. After the bridge's construction, the city experienced its first real estate boom and many subdivisions sprouted around the city.
[edit] Interesting facts
| Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
| This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007) |
- Fort Myers is still considered by local residents to be the "main" city of Southwest Florida, even though Cape Coral now has more than three times as many people. Thus Cape Coral is thought of as a suburb of Fort Myers, much in the way the larger Virginia Beach is thought of as a suburb of Norfolk even though Norfolk is now smaller in population. The reason for this is that the area's central business district is in the smaller, more densely populated Fort Myers, where as Cape Coral is almost entirely suburban homes, but in a very large land area.
- The first known resident of Fort Myers was Manuel Gonzalez, a Spaniard from the province of Asturias, who had come by way of Cuba and settled there in the 19th century.
- Fort Myers Senior High School, an International Baccalaureate school, was ranked as one of the best schools in the nation by Newsweek magazine.
- Dunbar High School's Science Olympiad teams won 4th and 8th place in the 2007 Florida State Science Olympiad.
- American Idol runner-up Vonzell Solomon graduated from Cypress Lake High School's Center for the Arts.
- In the premier episode of the final season of The Sopranos, Eugene Pontecorvo inherits $2 million from a relative and asks Tony Soprano if he can take the money and buy a retirement home in Fort Myers.
- The abandoned city scene from Day of the Dead was filmed in downtown Fort Myers.
- Local private school Canterbury was listed in Forbes's "Top 400 Schools to Get Your Kid into Harvard". Canterbury students have also won the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Grand Award five times in the past 20 years.
[edit] Higher learning
- Edison College
- Florida Gulf Coast University
- Hodges University
- Nova Southeastern University
- Southwest Florida College
[edit] Geography and climate
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.4 mi² (104.7 km²). 31.8 mi²(82.4 km²) of it is land and 8.6 mi² (22.2 km²) of it (21.25%) is water.
| Climate in Fort Myers | |||||||||||||
| Monthly averages[1] | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norm high °F (°C) | 75 (24) | 77 (25) | 80 (27) | 85 (29) | 89 (32) | 91 (33) | 92 (33) | 92 (33) | 90 (32) | 86 (30) | 81 (27) | 77 (25) | 85 (29) |
| Norm low °F (°C) | 54 (13) | 55 (13) | 59 (15) | 63 (17) | 68 (20) | 73 (23) | 74 (23) | 74 (23) | 74 (23) | 69 (21) | 62 (17) | 56 (13) | 65 (18) |
| Precip. in. (cm) | 2.2 (5.7) | 2.1 (5.3) | 2.7 (7.0) | 1.7 (4.3) | 3.4 (8.7) | 9.8 (24.8) | 9.0 (22.8) | 9.5 (24.2) | 7.9 (20.0) | 2.6 (6.6) | 1.7 (4.3) | 1.6 (4.0) | 54.2 (137.6) |
| Avg. no. precip. days[2] | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 145 |
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2006, there were 65,729 people, 19,107 households, and 10,738 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.8/km² (1,514.6/mi²). There were 21,836 housing units at an average density of 264.9/km² (686.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.35% White, 33.39% African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 5.69% from other races, and 3.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.49% of the population.
There were 19,107 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.3% were married couples living together, 18.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.3 males.
[edit] Points of interest
- The city is the home of the Fort Myers Miracle baseball club of the Florida State League, and is the spring training locale for the Boston Red Sox. The Minnesota Twins hold their spring training in suburban South Fort Myers.
- Fort Myers shares the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team, Florida Firecats af2 arena football, and Florida Flame NBA Development League basketball team with nearby Naples, and have the Florida Stingrays AIFA indoor football team all to themselves at the Lee County Civic Center.
- For the golfing enthusiast, the Fort Myers Area (Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Lehigh Acres, Sanibel Island and Venice) is home to over 50 of Southwest Florida's renowned 130 public and private golf courses. Florida's great weather combined with the scenic and challenging nature of these courses makes the area an excellent stop for the vacationing golfer.
- The Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium is a private, not-for-profit, environmental education organization. Set on a 105 acre site, it has a museum, three nature trails, a planetarium, butterfly and bird aviaries, a gift shop and meeting and picnic areas.
- The Winternats R/C car race, attended by people from around the world, takes place annually at the Lee County Civic Center.
[edit] Crime
In 2006, the crime rates per 100,000 people for the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral MSA were as follows:
| Crime | Fort Myers crime rate |
|---|---|
| Murder | 8.7 |
| Rape | 35.4 |
| Robbery | 156.3 |
| Assault | 396.5 |
| Burglary | 1035.5 |
| Theft | 2165.9 |
| Grand Theft Auto | 416.8 |
[edit] Notable people from the Fort Myers area
- Terri Kimball — Playboy Playmate of the Month for May 1964
- Earnest Graham — NFL running back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Phillip Buchanon — NFL cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (current team), Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders
- Jevon Kearse — NFL defensive end, Philadelphia Eagles (current team), Tennessee Titans
- Deion Sanders — former NFL cornerback, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens; Former MLB Player — New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants
- Vonzell Solomon — American Idol 3rd-place finisher
- Sara Hildebrand - United States Olympic Diver (2000,2004)[citation needed]
- Elissa Steamer — professional skateboarder
- Mike Greenwell — former MLB Player and current NASCAR driver
- Anthony Henry — NFL cornerback, Dallas Cowboys (current team), Cleveland Browns
- Mindy McCready — country music artist
- Noel Devine — running back at University of West Virginia
- Plies — American rapper
- Big Gates — Founder of Big Gates Records
- Denise Masino- Professional bodybuilder
- Amanda Dunbar - Professional female bodybuilder[citation needed]
- Peggy Schoolcraft- Professional bodybuilder. 1997 NPC Team Universe Champion[citation needed]
Formerly:
- Thomas Edison — Inventor of the light bulb, and audio recording, had a winter estate next to that of Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone
- Henry Ford — Founded the Ford Motor Company, and father of the assembly line, had a winter estate next to that of Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone
- Harvey Firestone- Founded Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, had a winter estate next to that of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford
- Beverly Direnzo - Female Bodybuilder
[edit] References
- ^ Monthly Averages for Fort Myers, FL. The Weather Channel.
- ^ Precipitation averages for Fort Myers, FL. Sperling's Best Places.
[edit] External links
- City of Fort Myers
- Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
- Fort Myers Economy at a Glance, U.S. Department of Labor
- The News-Press
- Fort Myers, Florida is at coordinates Coordinates:
Municipalities and communities of Lee County, Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| County seat: Fort Myers | ||
| Cities | Bonita Springs | Cape Coral | Fort Myers | Sanibel | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | Alva | Bokeelia | Buckingham | Burnt Store Marina | Captiva | Charleston Park | Cypress Lake | East Dunbar | Estero | Fort Myers Shores | Gateway | Harlem Heights | Iona | Lehigh Acres | Lochmoor Waterway Estates | Matlacha | Matlacha Isles-Matlacha Shores | McGregor | North Fort Myers | Olga | Page Park | Palmona Park | Pine Island Center | Pine Manor | Pineland | Punta Rassa | San Carlos Park | St. James City | Suncoast Estates | Three Oaks | Tice | Villas | Whiskey Creek | |
io:Fort Myers, Florida nl:Fort Myers pl:Fort Myers vo:Fort Myers
