Fort Myers, FL

Fort Myers has faced the Caloosahatchee River through every stage of its development. The U.S. Army established a fort there in 1850, and Major James Evans bought the former military property and laid out a town in 1870. Fort Myers incorporated in 1885 with 349 residents. The river supplied transportation and a defining address, but it also places parts of the city within coastal and riverine flood zones. Today the historic center occupies the south bank, with older neighborhoods extending east and south along corridors such as Palm Beach Boulevard, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and Cleveland Avenue. Two famous winter homes make the riverfront's national history unusually tangible. Thomas Edison bought 13.5 acres for Seminole Lodge in 1885, and Henry Ford purchased the neighboring Mangoes estate in 1916.

ATTRCondor5635 / Public domain

Mina Edison deeded her property to the city in 1947; Fort Myers acquired the Ford estate in 1988. The combined Edison and Ford Winter Estates now cover 18 acres and contain 19 buildings, including the homes, gardens, laboratory, and museum spaces. They are a continuing cultural institution as well as a record of the era when wealthy winter residents promoted Fort Myers far beyond Southwest Florida. Downtown also works as a government and business center. Courthouse Square has been the seat of Lee County government since 1894. Health care, schools, and public agencies shape the regional workday: the city's FY2023 report places Lee Health and the school district at the top of its employer table. The surrounding River District has brick streets, offices, restaurants, galleries, performance venues, and a marina within a redevelopment area of roughly 540 acres.

ATTRRolf Müller ( User:Rolfmueller ) / CC BY-SA 3.0

First Friday Art Walk, third Friday Music Walk, and a Saturday farmers market at Centennial Park regularly turn its streets into event space. Fort Myers also has separate redevelopment areas in East Fort Myers, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Central Fort Myers, and Cleveland Avenue, so the downtown riverfront is one of several commercial and residential corridors. LeeTran routes converge at the Rosa Parks Transportation Center before continuing to Tice, Dunbar, Riverdale, Cape Coral, and other regional destinations. Living near the river also requires attention to storm conditions. Fort Myers identifies June 1 through November 30 as hurricane season and directs residents to flood maps, evacuation zones, alerts, and shelter information.

ATTREbyabe / CC BY-SA 3.0

Recovery from Hurricane Ian was still present in city housing policy in February 2026, when mortgage and rental assistance remained available to qualifying households affected by the storm. In April 2026, the city began a two-year update of its stormwater master plan to revise watershed models and address higher Caloosahatchee levels, sea-level rise, water quality, and stronger storms; the work is underway, not a completed set of protections. Owners planning major repairs also encounter the federal substantial-improvement rule, which the city defines at 50 percent of a building's pre-work market value during a 12-month period. The city's flood and evacuation-zone maps belong beside the museum, market, and transit map as practical address-level references.