Fort Myers, Florida

Fort Myers, Florida was built along the Caloosahatchee River as one of the first bases of operations during the Seminole Indian Wars. Fort Myers was named in honor of Colonel Abraham C. Myers, the son-in-law of the commander of Fort Brooke in Tampa. Located in beautiful Lee County, Fort Myers has activities to whet any taste bud.

With its temperate climate and close proximity to both the Caloosahatchee River and the Gulf of Mexico, Fort Myers is a fisherman's dream come true! Snook, tarpon, redfish, spotted seatrout, sheepshead, jack crevalle, shark, barracuda, king mackerel, and mangrove snapper are all prime targets for both inshore and offshore fisherman. Golf courses are also in abundant supply. Eastwood Golf Course, designed in 1976, has been listed by Golf Digest as one of the best public courses in the United States.

No visit to Fort Myers is complete without stopping off at the home of one of the area's most famous citizens, Thomas Edison. He ambled into Fort Myers in 1885 and decided to build a winter home here. The Edison/Ford Winter Estates museum houses Edison's home, "Seminole Lodge," and is now a registered historical landmark. The property is also home to Edison's laboratory, his Botanical Garden, his "electric launch", the boat he used to entertain guests to the estate, and the Edison Museum, which exhibits artifacts used by the inventor, as well as his collection of automobiles. Tours are available to show visitors the estate, and enlighten listeners on Edison's inventions (and exploits).

Edison's next door neighbor didn't do too badly for himself, either. Henry Ford bought the property adjacent to Edison, and the two magnate's families wintered together in Fort Myers. Ford's estate, "Mangoes," is separated from Edison's by a "Friendship Gate," which came to symbolize the close bond between the two tycoons. They entertained luminaries such as Charles Lindbergh, Harvey Firestone, naturalist John Burroughs, and Nobel Laureate Alexis Carrel, among others.

Fort Myers is rich in the history of Southwest Florida. A must-see for any history buff is the Fort Myers Historical Museum. Built from a converted railroad depot and opened in 1982, the museum covers the history of the Calusa and Seminole Indians, Spanish battlements including a cannon of the early 1700's, and models of the original fort used in the Second Seminole War. Military history is also the focus for the museum's WWI and WWII display, which includes a recovered P-39 Airacobra fighter plane.

Due to its central location, Fort Myers is a great spot to base a Florida vacation. Fort Myers Beach and the pristine white beaches of Sanibel Island are close by. Fort Myers, known as the "City of Palms" for the 1800 royal palms (given first by Thomas Edison) that line the streets on McGregor Boulevard, is both a monument to the Old South and a bridge to a new Florida that thrives on energy and vitality; a town where you can simultaneously step back in time, and run headlong into the future.