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Fort Myers or Ft. Myers, is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. It has grown rapidly in recent years. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 62,298 and in 2018 was estimated at 82,254.

Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The winter estates of Thomas Edison ("Seminole Lodge") and Henry Ford ("The Mangoes") are major attractions. The city is named after Colonel Abraham Myers, the quartermaster general of the Confederate States Army.

History

Spain originally had colonial influence in Florida, succeeded by Great Britain and, lastly, the United States.

Seminole Wars

During the Second Seminole War, between 1835 and 1842, the US Army operated Fort Dulany at Punta Rassa, at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. When a hurricane destroyed Fort Dulany in October 1841, army operations were moved up the Caloosahatchee River to a site named Fort Harvie. Fort Harvie was abandoned in 1842, as the Second Seminole War wound down. After a white trader was killed by Seminoles on the Peace River in 1849, the Army returned to the Caloosahatchee River in 1850.