Lee County, Florida

History

Protohistory and European contact (500–1799)

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. 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. As the 18th century came to an end, the Calusa who had once inhabited the area were replaced with the Seminole (see also the Spanish Indians). In particular, in 1799, an Indian agent noted the existence of a Seminole town on the "Cull-oo-saw-hat-che" or Caloosahatchee River.

Fort established (1850s–1860s)

After Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, a number of American settlers moved into the Florida Territory, causing conflict with the local native tribes. Several military and trading posts were established near the Caloosahatchee River during the Second Seminole War. Fort Myers was built in 1850 as a military fort to fend off Seminole Indians just prior to the Third Seminole War (Billy Bowleg's War). 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, Holata Micco (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, 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 from the Cow Cavalry. 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. 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)

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. 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, 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. Lee County was formed in 1887 from Monroe County, with Fort Myers serving as the county seat. It was named for Robert E. Lee, Confederate general in the American Civil War. 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. Fort Myers was the frequent winter home of Thomas Edison, as well as Henry Ford. In 1911, Fort Myers was incorporated as a city. 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. In 1927, a property purchased by the City of Fort Myers was turned into an airport, eventually called Page Field.

Modern growth (1940s–present)

During World War II, Page Field served as an advanced fighter training base and home to several bomber groups. Following the war, a small terminal was built in the mid-1950s as the airport transitioned to commercial use. 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. 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.

Lee County has hosted several Major League Baseball teams for spring training over the past several decades. The county received a significant economic boost in 1983 when Southwest Florida Regional Airport (now known as Southwest Florida International Airport) opened. To accommodate the region's post-pandemic population boom, the airport launched a major $1.1 billion terminal expansion in the mid-2020s. This project, which includes the construction of a new Concourse E and a consolidated security checkpoint, officially broke ground on its second phase in late 2024.

Between 2020 and 2024 alone, Lee County's population grew by approximately 13.2% to over 860,000 residents, driven largely by domestic migration.

Infrastructure and redevelopment

In the wake of recent storms, the county undertook massive infrastructure hardening projects. In 2023, construction began on the replacement of the Big Carlos Pass Bridge, converting the aging drawbridge into a 60-foot fixed-span structure; the project was scheduled for completion in the summer of 2026. Additionally, the Sanibel Causeway, which was severed during Hurricane Ian, underwent permanent resilient repairs that included sheet pile walls and elevated roadways, fully reopening to the public in May 2025.

Hurricanes

On August 13, 2004, the county was struck by Hurricane Charley, a category 4 storm, particularly impacting the northwestern islands of Captiva and Gasparilla. On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma struck as a category 2 storm, causing widespread flooding in Lehigh Acres and Bonita Springs.

On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall as a category 4 storm, becoming the deadliest hurricane in Lee County history with over 70 confirmed deaths. The storm obliterated the Fort Myers Beach pier and historic cottage districts, leading to a wave of redevelopment that replaced older structures with modern, elevated resorts such as the Margaritaville Beach Resort.

In late 2024, the recovery was tested by two consecutive storms. Hurricane Helene (September 2024) pushed significant storm surge into coastal properties, filling pools with sand but causing less structural damage than Ian due to updated building codes. Less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton (October 2024) brought tropical storm-force winds and tornadoes to the county, though the newly reinforced Sanibel Causeway remained passable for emergency vehicles.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1212 sqmi, of which 428 sqmi (35.3%) are covered by water. 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 mi south of Tampa, 115 mi west of Fort Lauderdale via Interstate 75, and roughly 125 mi west-northwest of Miami via U.S. Highway 41.

Adjacent counties

• Charlotte County (north)
• Glades County (northeast)
• Collier County (southeast)
• Hendry County (east)

National protected areas

• Caloosahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
• J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge
• Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge
• Pine Island National Wildlife Refuge

Islands

• Big Hickory Island
• Captiva Island
• Cayo Costa (Cayo Costa State Park)
• Cabbage Key
• Estero Island (Town of Fort Myers Beach)
• Gasparilla Island (community of Boca Grande)
• Little Hickory Island (Beaches of Bonita Springs)
• Lovers Key / Carl E. Johnson State Park
• Matlacha Island Matlacha, Florida
• Mound Key Archaeological State Park
• North Captiva Island
• Pine Island
• San Carlos Island (Town of Fort Myers Beach)
• Sanibel Island (Town of Sanibel)
• Useppa Island

Climate

Lee County has a year-round warm, monsoon-influenced climate that is close to the boundary between tropical and subtropical climates (18 °C in the coldest month), thus is either classified as a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), which is the classification used by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw). 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 or lowers to the freezing mark. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 64.2 °F in January to 83.4 °F in August, with the annual mean being 75.1 °F. Records range from 24 °F on December 29, 1894 up to 103 °F on June 16–17, 1981.

|Jan record high F = 90 |Feb record high F = 92 |Mar record high F = 93 |Apr record high F = 96 |May record high F = 99 |Jun record high F = 103 |Jul record high F = 101 |Aug record high F = 100 |Sep record high F = 98 |Oct record high F = 95 |Nov record high F = 95 |Dec record high F = 90 |year record high F= 103 |Jan record low F = 27 |Feb record low F = 27 |Mar record low F = 33 |Apr record low F = 39 |May record low F = 50 |Jun record low F = 58 |Jul record low F = 66 |Aug record low F = 65 |Sep record low F = 63 |Oct record low F = 45 |Nov record low F = 34 |Dec record low F = 24 |year record low F= 24

Demographics

|align-fn=center

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 760,822, 318,303 households, and 187,877 families residing in the county.

The median age was 49.7 years. About 4.6% of residents were under the age of 5, 17.4% were under 18, and 29.1% were 65 years of age or older; 51.0% of the population was female; for every 100 females there were 95.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.2 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 69.7% White, 7.7% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.7% Asian,

96.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.9% lived in rural areas.

There were 318,303 households in the county, of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.7% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 416,332 housing units, of which 23.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.9% were owner-occupied and 28.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 12.8%.

Racial and ethnic composition

Languages

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. In total, 21.01% of the population spoke languages other than English as their primary language.

Economy

Lee County's stronger economic sectors include construction, retail, leisure, and hospitality. Hertz moved its headquarters from New Jersey to Estero in 2016, the first major corporation to relocate to Lee County. The largest employers in Lee County as of 2019 are:

Law enforcement and crime

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

Main article: School District of Lee County (Florida)

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, 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.

Parks and recreation

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.

Beaches

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.

Popular beaches include Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel and Captiva Island, Bonita Beach, Bunchee Beach, and Lovers Key.

Libraries

Main article: Lee County Library System (Florida)

The Lee County Library System has 13 branches. The towns of Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, though located in Lee County, maintain their own independent public library entities.

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.

Politics

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.

Voter demographics

As of May 31, 2024.

Transportation

Airports

:*Southwest Florida International Airport (IATA airport code - RSW), in South Fort Myers, serves over 8.37 million passengers annually. 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

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

Major road bridges

• 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.
• Midpoint Memorial Bridge (County Road 884): 4-lane single-span bridge that connects Cape Coral with Fort Myers, over the Caloosahatchee River.
• Pine Island Causeway (County Road 78): a small single-leaf drawbridge connecting Cape Coral to Matlacha and Pine Island
• 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

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

Newspapers

Newspapers include The News-Press and Florida Weekly.

Radio

Arbitron standard radio market: Ft Myers-Naples-Marco Island. 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

Nielsen Media Research designated market area: Ft. Myers-Naples

Number of TV homes: 479,130

2006–2007 U.S. rank: 64/210

• WBBH – NBC affiliate
• WFTX – Fox affiliate
• WGCU – PBS member station
• WINK – CBS affiliate
• WINK-DT2 – MyNetworkTV/Antenna TV affiliate
• WRXY - Christian Television Network affiliate
• WTPH – Azteca America affiliate
• WUVF - Univision affiliate
• WWDT - Telemundo affiliate
• WXCW – CW television network affiliate
• WZVN – ABC affiliate

Sports

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.

MLB spring training

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 was from Fort Myers, and was instrumental in bringing his team to the city for spring training. From 2024 until his death in 2025, he served as a Lee County Commissioner. 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

Cities

• Bonita Springs
• Cape Coral
• Fort Myers
• Sanibel

Town

• Fort Myers Beach

Village

• Estero

Municipal district

• Lehigh Acres

Census-designated places

• Alva
• Bokeelia
• Buckingham
• Burnt Store Marina
• Captiva
• Charleston Park
• Cypress Lake
• East Dunbar (former CDP; since annexed by city of Fort Myers)
• Florida Gulf Coast University
• Fort Myers Shores
• Gateway
• Harlem Heights
• Iona
• Lochmoor Waterway Estates
• Matlacha (on Matlacha Island)
• Matlacha Isles-Matlacha Shores
• McGregor
• North Fort Myers
• Olga
• Page Park
• Palmona Park
• Pine Island Center
• Pine Manor
• Pineland (on Pine Island)
• Punta Rassa
• San Carlos Park
• St. James City
• Suncoast Estates
• Tanglewood (former CDP)
• Three Oaks
• Tice
• Verandah
• Villas
• Whiskey Creek

Other unincorporated communities

• Babcock Ranch (part)
• Boca Grande (part)
• Cayo Costa

CDP'S and Unincorporated Communities

• Burnt Store Marina

Notes

References

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53. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
54. not an option in the 1980 Census
55. not an option in the 1990 Census
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