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{{short description|County in Florida, United States}}
{{distinguish|Lee, Florida}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=
{{Infobox U.S. county
| county = Lee County
| state = Florida
| ex image =
| ex image size = 250px
| ex image cap = Base Operations at [[Page Field]]
| image_flag = File:Flag of Lee County, Florida.svg
| seal = File:Logo and Seal of Lee County, Florida.svg
| seal size = 150px
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{{Coord|26.58|-81.92|display=title,inline|type:adm2nd_region:US-FL_source:UScensus1990}}
| census yr = 2020
| pop = 760822<ref name="2020census">{{cite web |title=Quickfacts Lee County |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/leecountyflorida
| density_sq_mi = 969.2
| web = www.leegov.com
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}}
'''Lee County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in [[southwestern Florida]], United States, on the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]]. As of the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]],
The county comprises the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area ([[Metropolitan statistical area|MSA]]), which, along with the [[Naples, Florida|Naples]]-[[Marco Island, Florida|Marco Island]] ([[Collier County, Florida|Collier County]]) MSA and the [[Clewiston, Florida|Clewiston]] ([[Hendry County, Florida|Hendry County]], [[Glades County, Florida|Glades County]]) Micropolitan Statistical Area ([[Micropolitan statistical area|μSA]]), is included in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers-Naples Combined Statistical Area ([[Combined statistical area|CSA]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 21, 2023 |title=Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Guidance on the Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OMB-Bulletin-23-01.pdf |access-date=July 21, 2023 |website=Executive Office of the President |pages=47, 129}}</ref>
Lee County was established in 1887 from [[Monroe County, Florida|Monroe County]].<ref name="Florida Historical Society">{{cite book |title=Publications of the Florida Historical Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZQ-AAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA32 |publisher=Florida Historical Society |year=1908 |page=32}}</ref> Fort Myers is the county seat and a center of tourism in Southwest Florida. It is about {{convert|120|mi|km}} south of [[Tampa]] at the meeting point of the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and the [[Caloosahatchee River]].<ref name="Colihan">[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_25.shtml Jane Colihan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601231825/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_25.shtml |date=June 1, 2009}} "Spring Break", ''American Heritage'', February/March 2006</ref> Lee County is the home for spring training of the [[Boston Red Sox]] and [[Minnesota Twins]] [[Major League Baseball]] teams.▼
▲Lee County was established in 1887 from [[Monroe County, Florida|Monroe County]].<ref name="Florida Historical Society">{{cite book |title=Publications of the Florida Historical Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZQ-AAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA32 |publisher=Florida Historical Society |year=1908 |page=32}}</ref> Fort Myers is the county seat and a center of tourism in Southwest Florida. It is about {{convert|120|mi|km}} south of [[Tampa]] at the meeting point of the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and the [[Caloosahatchee River]].<ref name="Colihan">[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_25.shtml Jane Colihan] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601231825/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/2006/1/2006_1_25.shtml |date=June 1, 2009}} "Spring Break", ''American Heritage'', February/March 2006</ref> Lee County is the home for spring training of the [[Boston Red Sox]] and the [[Minnesota Twins]] [[Major League Baseball]] teams.
==History==
===Protohistory and European contact (
The area that is now Lee County has several archaeological sites that show evidence of habitation by peoples belonging to the [[Caloosahatchee culture]] (500
===Fort established (1850s–1860s)===
After Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, a number of settlers moved into Florida, causing conflict with the local Seminole Indians. Fort Myers was built in 1850 as a military fort to fend off Seminole Indians during the [[Seminole Wars]]. The fort 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,<ref>Covington, James W. 1993. ''The Seminoles of Florida''. Gainesville, FL: [[University Press of Florida]]. {{ISBN|0-8130-1196-5}}.</ref> and the fort was abandoned. Billy's Creek, which flows into the
===Settlement and early growth (1860s–1920s)===
During the Civil War, Fort Myers was occupied by federal troops with the intention of disrupting the Confederate cattle supply from Florida. In February 1865, it was the site of the [[Battle of Fort Myers]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Paul |title=Discovering the Civil War in Florida : a reader and guide |date=2001 |publisher=Pineapple Press |location=Sarasota, FL |isbn=9781561642342 |edition=1st}}</ref> The first settlers in Fort Myers arrived in 1866. In the 1870s, Tervio Padilla, a wealthy merchant from the Canary Islands, came by way of Key West to Cayo Costa and established trade with natives and "ranchos" that extended northward to Charlotte Harbor. His ships often made port at Cayo Costa at the entrance to the harbor. Enchanted by the tropical island, he eventually decided to settle there. Padilla prospered until the outbreak of the [[Spanish–American War]], when his fleet was burned and scuttled. He then turned to another means of livelihood – fishing. When the government claimed his land, he was disinclined to set up another ranch, so moved with his wife further down the island and as before, simply homesteaded. The Padilla family is one of the first pioneer families of Lee County and many still reside within the county, mainly around the Pine Island area.
In 1882, the city experienced a significant influx of settlers. In 1885, when Fort Myers was incorporated,<ref>Grismer, K.H. (1984). ''Story of Fort Myers: The History of the Land of the Caloosahatchee and Southwest Florida'' (reprint ed.). Island Pr. p. 132</ref> its population of 349 residents made it 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.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070107044709/http://www.fortmyers.org/fort-myers-history.htm The History of Fort Myers], www.fortmyers.org.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Downtown | Fort Myers, FL - Official Website |url=https://cityftmyers.com/1741/Downtown}}</ref> Lee County was formed in 1887 from [[Monroe County, Florida|Monroe County]], with Fort Myers serving as the county seat.<ref name="Florida Historical Society"/> It was named for [[Robert E. Lee]], Confederate general in the American Civil War.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gannett |first=Henry |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |year=1905 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n183 184]}}</ref> Fort Myers first became a nationally known winter resort with the opening of the Royal Palm Hotel in 1898, built by [[New York City]] department store magnate Hugh O'Neill.<ref name="news-press.com">[http://www.news-press.com/story/life/outdoors/2016/02/13/tourist-attraction-fort-myers-hugh-oneill-royal-palm-hotel-history-williams/79871878/ "Remembering the first tourist attraction in Fort Myers"], News-Press, February 13, 2016.</ref> Fort Myers was the frequent winter home of [[Thomas Edison]], as well as [[Henry Ford]].<ref name="Colihan"/> In 1911, Fort Myers was incorporated as a city.<ref>Grismer, p. 205</ref> In 1923, [[Collier County, Florida|Collier]] and [[Hendry County, Florida|Hendry]] Counties were created by splitting these areas from Lee County. Construction of the Tamiami Trail Bridge, built across the Caloosahatchee River in 1924, sparked the city's growth. After the bridge's construction, the city experienced its first real estate boom and many subdivisions sprouted around the city.<ref name="news-press.com"/> In 1927, a property purchased by the City of Fort Myers was turned into an airport, eventually called [[Page Field]].
===Modern growth (1940s–present)===
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====Hurricanes====
On August 13, 2004, the county was struck by [[Hurricane Charley]], a [[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale#Category 4|category 4]] storm, particularly on the northwestern islands of [[Captiva Island|Captiva]], [[Boca Grande, FL|Gasparilla]], and [[North Captiva]]. On September 10, 2017, Lee County was struck by [[Hurricane Irma]] as a [[Saffir–Simpson scale|
==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|1212|sqmi}}, of which
===Adjacent counties===
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===Climate===
Lee County has a year-round warm, [[monsoon]]-influenced climate that is close to the boundary between tropical and subtropical climates ({{convert|18|°C|0}} in the coldest month), thus is either classified as a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfa''), which is the classification used by [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
{{Weather box|location = Fort Myers, Florida ([[Page Field]]), 1981–2010 normals
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|2010n=<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12/14071.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 14, 2014}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
|2020=760822
|2020n=<ref name="2022PopulationEstimate">{{cite web |title=County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2022 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |website=County Population Totals: 2020-2022 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=March 31, 2024}}</ref>
|align-fn=center
|footnote=
}}
===2020 Census===
{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Lee County racial composition as of 2020'''<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
!Race
!Pop 2010<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US12071&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2 |access-date=
!Pop 2020<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US12071&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=
!% 2010
!% 2020
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|0.03%
|-
|Some
|1,581
|3,974
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|0.52%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/
|7,325
|22,992
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|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]],
The median household income was $59,608 with a per capita income of $34,818. About 10.5% of population below the [[poverty threshold]]. The median value of owner-occupied housing
===Languages===
As of 2010, 78.99% of residents spoke English as their first language, and 15.19% spoke Spanish, 1.28% French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole,) 0.88% German, 0.59% Portuguese, and 0.55%
==Economy==
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| commonname =
| abbreviation = LCSO
| patch =
| patchcaption =
| logo =
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| flagcaption =
| imagesize =
| motto = "Proud To Serve"
| mottotranslated =
| mission =
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| boat1type =
| boats1 =
| aircraft1type =
| aircraft1 =
| animal1type =
| animals1 =
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| reference =
}}
The
[[File:Lcso police car.jpg|thumb|left| Lee County Sheriff's Office patrol car]]
The Lee County
The Lee County Sheriff's Office is also responsible for corrections, court operations, and civil proceedings. There are multiple specialized units within the agency including Aviation, K9, SOU, Fugitive Warrants, Marine, Electronic Surveillance, and Tactical Narcotics Teams.
[[File:LCSOHelos.jpg|thumb|left| Lee County Sheriff's Office Eurocopter]]▼
==Education==
{{Main|School District of Lee County (Florida)}}
[[File:FGCU Academic Core.jpg|thumb|FGCU's Academic Core]]
FGCU is a public university located just south of the [[Southwest Florida International Airport]] in South Fort Myers. The university belongs to the 12-campus [[State University System of Florida]]. FGCU competes in the [[ASUN Conference]] in [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division I (NCAA)|Division I]] sports. The school is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the [[Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]] to award [[Associate's Degree|associate's]], 51 different types of [[Bachelor's Degree|bachelor's]], 29 different [[Master's degree|master's]], and six types of [[Doctorate|doctoral]] degrees.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacscoc.org/details.asp?instid=30580 |title=Commission on Colleges |publisher=Sacscoc.org |access-date=March 31, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424064452/http://www.sacscoc.org/details.asp?instid=30580 |archive-date=April 24, 2014}}</ref>
== Parks and recreation ==
The parks are maintained by the county's Parks & Recreation
== Beaches ==
Some of the main tourist attractions in Southwest Florida are its beaches. Lee County is home to ten beach parks and an additional seven beach accesses, maintained by Lee County Parks & Recreation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leegov.com:80/parks/beaches|title=Beaches|website=Lee County Southwest Florida|language=en-US|access-date=March 25, 2019}}</ref>
Popular beaches include
==Libraries==
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The [[Lee County Library System (Florida)|Lee County Library System]] has 13 branches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leegov.com/library/about|title=Lee County Library System (Florida)|website=www.leegov.com|access-date=March 19, 2016}}</ref> The towns of Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, though located in Lee County, maintain their own independent public library entities.<ref>http://www.fmb.lib.fl.us/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207103413/http://www.fmb.lib.fl.us/ |date=December 7, 2013 }} http://sanlib.org/</ref>
The Lee County Library System currently provides more than 294,000
==Politics==
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=== Voter demographics ===
As of
{| class="wikitable"
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| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}
|Republican
|
|
|-
| {{party color cell|Independent (United States)}}
|No
|
|
|-
| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}
|Democratic
|
|
|-
|
|Minor parties
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |Total
!
!100.0%
|}
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===Airports===
:*[[Southwest Florida International Airport]] ([[IATA airport code]] - RSW), in South Fort Myers, serves over 8.37 million passengers annually.<ref name=lylcpa/> Currently, the airport offers international non-stop flights to Cancun, Mexico;
:*[[Page Field]] (IATA airport code - FMY), also in South Fort Myers, just south of the incorporated limits of the City of Fort Myers, is the county's general aviation airport.
===Seaports and marine transport===
A small [[port]] operation continues in [[Boca Grande, Florida|Boca Grande]], being used as a way-point for oil distribution.
In addition, a private enterprise operates a high-speed, passenger-only [[ferry]] service between [[Fort Myers Beach, Florida|Fort Myers Beach]] from San Carlos Island and [[Key West, Florida|Key West]]. Another ferry service is offered from Fort Myers to Key West.
===Major highways===
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:*'''[[Matanzas Pass Bridge]]''' ([[Florida State Road 865|State Road 865]]): 3-travel-lane single-span bridge crosses Hurricane Bay and Matanzas Pass within the incorporated limits of the Town of Fort Myers Beach, connecting the mainland to the barrier islands.
:*'''[[
:*'''[[
:*'''[[Sanibel Causeway]]'''
:*'''[[Wilson Pigott Bridge]]''' ([[Florida State Road 31|State Road 31]]): 2-travel-lane single-span drawbridge between State Road 78 ("Bayshore Road") and State Road 80, over the Caloosahatchee River.
===Mass transportation===
Fixed-route [[transit bus|bus]] service is provided by the [[Lee County Transit Department]], operated as "[[LeeTran]]".
The Downtown Intermodal Transfer Center in Fort Myers also serves as an intermediate stop on [[Greyhound Lines]] bus service.
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===Radio===
[[Arbitron]] standard radio market: Ft Myers-Naples-[[Marco Island, FL|Marco Island]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arbitron.com/radio_stations/mm001050.asp |title=Market Ranks |publisher=Arbitron.com |access-date=December 18, 2012}}</ref> With an Arbitron-assigned 783,100 listening area population, the metropolitan area ranks 62/299 for the fall of 2006. The metropolitan area is home to 32 [[radio station]]s.
===Television===
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* [[WGCU (TV)|WGCU]] – [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] member station
* [[WINK-TV|WINK]] – [[CBS]] affiliate
* [[WINK-TV#
* [[WRXY-TV|WRXY]] - [[Christian Television Network]] affiliate
* [[WTPH-LP|WTPH]] – [[Azteca America]] affiliate
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The Red Sox' lease with Fort Myers ran through 2019, but the Red Sox were considering exercising the early out in their contract that would have allowed them to leave following the 2009 spring season. On October 28, 2008, the Lee County commission voted 3–1 to approve an agreement with the Boston Red Sox to build a new spring-training facility for the team in south Lee County. That stadium, named JetBlue Park at Fenway South, is located off Daniels Parkway near Southwest Florida International Airport. The stadium opened in time for the 2012 season.
[[City of Palms Park]] had been built in 1992 for the Red Sox' spring training. Former Red Sox left fielder [[Mike Greenwell]] is from Fort Myers, and was instrumental in bringing his team to the city for spring training.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kambic |first=Randy |title=MLB family's legacy continues in Cape Coral |url=https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/cape-coral/2018/07/21/cape-coral-mlb-greenwells-batting-cages-red-sox/792884002/ |access-date=
==Communities==
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* [[Estero, Florida|Estero]]
===
* [[Lehigh Acres, Florida|Lehigh Acres]]
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===Other unincorporated communities===
* [[Babcock Ranch, Florida|Babcock Ranch(Part)]]
* [[Boca Grande, Florida|Boca Grande(Part)]]
* [[Cayo Costa State Park|Cayo Costa]]
===CDP'S and Unincorporated Communities===
* [[Burnt Store Marina, Florida|Burnt Store Marina]]
==See also==
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{{Lee County, Florida}}
{{Florida}}
{{Authority control}}
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