Fort Myers

Fort Myers, city, seat of Lee County, southwestern Florida, on the Caloosahatchee River estuary, near the Gulf of Mexico; incorporated 1905. It is a tourist center and the commercial and shipping hub of a region producing flowers (notably gladiolus and chrysanthemums), citrus fruit, and cattle. Manufactures include medical products, communications equipment, and clothing. The winter homes (now museums) of Thomas A. Edison and Henry Ford and a community college are here. The community grew around a fort established as Fort Harvie in 1841 and renamed in 1850 for Colonel Abraham C. Myers, then chief quartermaster in Florida. Population 36,638 (1980); 45,206 (1990); 48,208 (2000); 58,428 (2005 estimate).