Fort Myers, Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Fort Myers, Florida | |
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| Nickname(s): City of Palms | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  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 (2008)University of Florida estimate | |
| - City | 68,689 |
| - Metro | 623,724 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 33900-33999 |
| Area code(s) | 239 |
| FIPS code | 12-24125[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0282700[2] |
| Website: http://www.cityftmyers.com | |
Fort Myers is the county seat[3] and commercial center of Lee County, Florida. Its population was 48,208 in the 2000 census. According to 2008 estimates, the population is 68,689. [4]
The city is one of two major cities that make up the Cape Coral-Fort Myers MSA, the other being Cape Coral. As of 2008, the population estimate for the metropolitan area was 623,725. [5]
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.
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[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 (190 km) 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 and Minnesota Twins spring training camps.
The first known resident of what is now Fort Myers was Manuel Gonzalez, a Spaniard from the province of Asturias, who came via Cuba in the 19th century.
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] 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.
The climate of Fort Myers is tropical.
| Climate in Fort Myers | |||||||||||||
| Monthly averages[6] | 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) | 56 (13) | 58 (14) | 60 (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[7] | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 145 |
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] 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] Education
[edit] Secondary schools
Secondary schools in the area include:
- Canterbury, a private school, 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.
- Dunbar High School's Science Olympiad teams won 15th place overall in the 2007 Florida State Science Olympiad, including a win in the remote sensing category. [8]
- Fort Myers Senior High School, an International Baccalaureate school, was ranked as one of the best schools in the nation by Newsweek magazine. [9]
- Cypress Lake High School, which is notable for being one of the only high schools in the area that has a Center for the Arts. It specializes in media arts, music, dance, theatre, and visual arts.
- Bishop Verot High School, a private, Roman Catholic high school in Ft. Myers, operated by the Diocese of Venice, Florida.
[edit] Higher learning
Institutions of higher learning in the area include:
- Edison State College
- Florida Gulf Coast University
- Hodges University
- Nova Southeastern University
- Rasmussen College
- Southwest Florida College
[edit] Points of interest
- Hammond Stadium in South Fort Myers is the home of the Fort Myers Miracle baseball club of the Florida State League, and is the spring training locale for the Minnesota Twins. The Boston Red Sox hold their spring training at City of Palms Park close to downtown Fort Myers.
- Fort Myers hosts the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team at Germain Arena, and Florida Firecats af2 arena football.
- For the golfing enthusiast, the Fort Myers Area (Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Estero, Lehigh Acres and Sanibel Island) 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 (0.42 km2) site, it has a museum, three nature trails, a planetarium, butterfly and bird aviaries, a gift shop and meeting and picnic areas.
[edit] Crime
[edit] Unmarked Graveyard
In March 2007, the remains of 8 people were found in a woods in Fort Myers, leading to an ongoing investigation for a possible serial killer. So far two of the individuals have been identified using DNA as Erik Kohler and John Blevins.[10]
[edit] Crime Statistics
In 2007, the crime rates per 100,000 people for the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral MSA were as follows:
| Crime | Fort Myers/Cape Coral MSA crime rate | U.S. National Average[11] |
|---|---|---|
| Murder | 8.7 | 5.7 |
| Rape | 35.4 | 30.9 |
| Robbery | 156.3 | 149.4 |
| Assault | 396.5 | 287.5 |
| Burglary | 1035.5 | 729.4 |
| Theft | 2165.9 | 2206.8 |
| Grand Theft Auto | 416.8 | 398.4 |
[edit] Notable people from the Fort Myers area
[edit] Present
- 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, Tennessee Titans (current team)
- 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
- Elissa Steamer - Professional skateboarder
- Sara Hildebrand - United States Olympic Diver (2000,2004) [11]
- 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 West Virginia University
- Ivy Box - Actress, Artist, Producer, Entrepreneur, castmember of BET's College Hill Interns
- Algernod Lanier "Plies" Washington — American rapper
- Big Gates — Founder of Big Gates Records
- Mario Henderson- Offensive tackle, Oakland Raiders
- Nolan Henke- Professional golfer.
- Randy Hand- Offensive tackle, Buffalo Bills (current), New England Patriots.
- Walt Wesley- NBA basketball player (1966-1976): Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phonenix Suns, Philadelphi 76ers, Capital Bullets, Milwaukee Bucks, Cincinnati Royals.
- Cliff Williams- bass player for AC/DC
- Stacy Carter- Former WWE wrestler.
- Bert Blyleven- former MLB pitcher for Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cleveland Indians and California Angels. [12]
- Matt Prater- current placekicker for the Denver Broncos, attended Estero High School.
[edit] Past
- Thomas Edison — Inventor of the light bulb, and audio recording, had a winter estate next to Henry Ford.
- Henry Ford — Founded the Ford Motor Company, and father of the assembly line, had a winter estate next to Thomas Edison.
- Amanda Dunbar - Professional female bodybuilder ,[13] [14] [15]
- Peggy Schoolcraft- Professional bodybuilder. 1997 NPC Team Universe Champion [16]
- Patty Berg - Groundbreaking LPGA member
- Charles Ghigna — poet and children's author known as "Father Goose;" boyhood home 1950-1973[17]
- Denise Masino- Professional bodybuilder
- Kimberly Page- Former member of the WCW Nitro Girls and Playboy model.
- Diamond Dallas Page- Former WCW and WWE wrestler, actor.
- Jerry Lawler- WWE wrestler and announcer.
- Beverly DiRenzo- Professional bodybuilder [18] [19] [20]
[edit] Fort Myers in popular culture
- The abandoned city scene from Day of the Dead was filmed in downtown Fort Myers. [21]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ "Monthly Averages for Fort Myers, FL". The Weather Channel.
- ^ "Precipitation averages for Fort Myers, FL". Sperling's Best Places.
- ^ 2007 Scores
- ^ America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
- ^ "Bone investigation solves 1 mystery, opens another". CNN.
- ^ FBI crime rate tables (2006)
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ Charles Ghigna bio
- ^ [8]
- ^ [9]
- ^ [10]
- ^ Day of the Dead (1985) - Filming locations
[edit] External links
- City of Fort Myers
- Fort Myers Economy at a Glance, U.S. Department of Labor
- The News-Press
- Florida Weekly
- Guide to Fort Myers
- Fort Myers, Florida is at coordinates Coordinates:
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