History of Fort Myers
Fort Myers was named in honor of Colonel Abraham C. Myers. He helped to settle a base of operations along the Caloosahatchee River during the Seminole Indian Wars. Hence the name Fort Myers was born. In the early 1800’s settlers were spreading through out Florida and were asking for protection from the Native Seminoles Indians. So in 1821 Florida became a recognized US Territory. Myers the son in law of the commanding officer of Fort Brooke in Tampa went to work setting the logistics from the sea to the ground to protect the settlers.
During the southern most battle of the civil war in 1858 the fort was then abandoned and reoccupied by federal troops from 1863-1865. Not long after the fort was dismantled and the construction material was utilized to erect some of the very first buildings in what would become downtown Fort Myers. With the first plat maps of our area drawn up in 1876.
Today we celebrate an annual reenactment of these events at the North Fort Myers Cracker Festival.
 |
Almost a decade later a man who would go on to change the world with his creative genius had his eye on this little known community. Thomas Alva Edison was cruising the west coast of Florida when he fell in love with the majestic beauty of Fort Myers. Later, regarding it as an endless source of discovery for him and his experiments. His respect and love of the native plant life and nature found here were instrumental in his accomplishments. Edison through sheer force of will and undaunting efforts put Fort Myers on the map. He built his home, laboratory, and erected the Seminole Lodge, all on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. The lush royal palms lining Riverside Avenue (now called McGregor Boulevard) were imported and planted by him. And would later garner the nickname "City of Palms". A namesake we treasure till this day. (One of the pictures rotating at the top of this page shows the Beautiful banyan trees at his estate).
With almost 1100 patents to his credit, he has been dubbed "America's most prolific inventor". His achievements include the phonograph, movie camera and projector, ship-to-shore radio, alkaline storage battery, ticker tape machine, and microphone. But it is the incandescent light bulb that is acknowledged worldwide as Edison's greatest invention. His vision truly lit up the world.
Edison's gift of light gets a chance to burn a little brighter each year during the Edison Festival of Light, as the city of Fort Myers annually celebrates his February 11th birthday. The celebration attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world who join in the grand parade. At the festival the King and Queen of Light are crowned at the coronation ball and reign in the Grand Parade of Light.
 |
Another great inventor and man of vision has his name and roots planted in Fort Myers was Henry Ford. When Ford was first introduced to Edison he was highly encouraged to go further with his experimentations with the automobile. He gained not only his approval but devote friendship as well. Edison introduced Ford to our area bringing him down for the winter months. By 1903 Henry Ford's dream had come true and he had become so famous that people were asking to put money into his company. The Ford Motor Company was officially started that year. By 1914 the first Ford Car Dealership was opened in Fort Myers. And yet another worldwide revolution was born. Partly from the sands of SWFL. Two snow birds that changed the world and the history of our area. The two distinguished inventors would sometimes go off on a camping trips or a drive to Estero together. Ford shared Edison's enthusiasm for Fort Myers, eventually purchasing the property adjoining his friend's estate and became a frequent winter visitor as long as Edison lived. |
