The Fort Myers community was founded after the American Civil War by Captain Manuel A. Gonzalez on February 21, 1866. Ft. Myers, nickname “City of Palms”, takes it name from a local former fort that was built during the Seminole Wars. The fort in turn took its name from Colonel Abraham Myers in 1850.
Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida. Fort Myers is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. The winter estates of Thomas Edison (“Seminole Lodge”) and Henry Ford (“The Mangoes”) are major attractions.
Fort Myers has a highly-valued historic and business-friendly community. The City of Fort Myers welcomes tourists, visitors, new residents, tech entrepreneurs, and all value-added businesses.
The City of Fort Myers, Lee County, visitors and residents, businesses, and neighborhoods embraces cultural equality, diversity, inclusion, equity and has many positive-minded and inspiring people as well as historic business-friendly communities.
Fort Myers residents are rolling out the “Welcome to Fort Myers”, “You’re Home Now”, welcome mats to new local entrepreneurs, new startups, online sales, business founders, new residents and more value-added businesses.
The City of Fort Myers encourages its residents to be inventors and create startups in retail, music, beauty, healthcare, legal, repair, medical services, information technology, restaurants, makeup, online sales, cleaning services, repair, beauty salons, barber shops, education technology, and construction to help the Fort Myers business community to grow.
On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian wrecked havoc throughout Lee County. Sanibel, Naples, and Fort Myers Beach were heavily impacted by the Category 4 storm with winds of 155 mph. Roads and bridges were destroyed. Flood waters devastated the entire area. FEMA provided disaster assistance to victims.