Lee County is located in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 750,822. The county seat is Fort Myers, and the largest city is Cape Coral with an estimated 2018 population of 189,343. Lee County comprises the Cape Coral–Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census, making it the 117th most populous city in the United States. With an area of 120 square miles (310 km2), Cape Coral is the largest city between Tampa and Miami in both population and area. It is the largest and principal city in the Cape Coral – Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city has over 400 mi (640 km) of navigable waterways, more than any other city on earth.
Punta Rassa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,750 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, which was previously the southernmost segment of CSX's Fort Myers Subdivision, runs from Arcadia south to North Naples via Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Estero, and Bonita Springs. The company's other line, the Sarasota Division, runs from Oneco south through Sarasota. Seminole Gulf acquired the lines in November 1987 and operates its own equipment.
State Road 865 and County Road 865 are a series of roads serving Lee County, Florida. Originally a continuous state road extending from Bonita Springs to Tice by way of Fort Myers Beach and Fort Myers, SR 865 now consists of two segments connected by a part of CR 865, which also extends to the north and south of the state segments. Both the state and county controlled segments of the route combined stretch a distance of over 40 miles (64.37 km), making it the longest designation in Lee County.
State Road 867 and County Road 867 together create a 14.6-mile (23.5 km) long road known as McGregor Boulevard in Lee County, Florida, paralleling the Caloosahatchee River between Punta Rassa and Fort Myers. The entire road was formerly state-maintained.
State Road 739 is a 17-mile-long (27 km) commercial highway running from San Carlos Park, Florida to North Fort Myers that is also known as U.S. Route 41 Business for the northernmost six miles (9.7 km) of its route.
The Florida Trail is one of eleven National Scenic Trails in the United States. It currently runs 1,000 miles (1,600 km), with 300 miles (480 km) planned, from Big Cypress National Preserve to Fort Pickens at Gulf Islands National Seashore, Pensacola Beach. Also known as the Florida National Scenic Trail, the Florida Trail provides permanent non-motorized recreation opportunity for hiking and other compatible activities and is within an hour of most Floridians. The Florida National Scenic Trail is designated as a National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968.
Green Cay Wetlands is a nature preserve located in Boynton Beach, Florida. The 100-acre (0.40 km2) property was purchased in 1999 from Ted and Trudy Winsberg, who used the property for farming. The Winsbergs sold the property for 1/3 of its appraised value with the condition that it would be made into a wetland. Construction began in July 2003. It was created jointly by the Palm Beach County Utilities Department and the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department in 2004. This park includes 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of an elevated wooden boardwalk, which takes visitors through various habitats, including cabbage palm hammock, cypress swamp, wetland hammock, and tropical hardwood hammock. The boardwalk also features a Seminole chickee hut as well as several gazebos, which have descriptive signs offering information on the wildlife and plant life.
The School District of Lee County manages public education in Lee County, Florida. As of the 2019–20 school year, there were 95,647 students attending 119 schools in the district, which had an operating budget of $1.327 billion.
Billy's Creek is a creek in Fort Myers, Florida. It is a tributary of the Caloosahatchee River and contains mangrove vegetation. The creek was named after the Seminole chief Billy Bowlegs who was forced to surrender there by United States forces in 1858. Billy's Creek has its beginnings as meandering water from a canal and is unique in that it is a scenic urban waterway and part of the Calusa Blueway. Joint efforts to improve water quality from various government agencies allowed the construction of the Billy's Creek Filter Marsh and adjacent nature park. This waterway is maintained by the Friends of Billy's Creek, a volunteer group in Lee County.
Fisheating Creek is a stream that flows into Lake Okeechobee in Florida. It is the only remaining free-flowing water course feeding into the lake, and the second-largest natural source for the lake. Most of the land surrounding the stream is either publicly owned or under conservation easements restricting development. The lower part of the stream remains in a largely natural state, and efforts are underway to restore the upper part of the stream to a more natural state.
Lakes Regional Park is a 279-acre public park located along Gladiolus Drive just south of Fort Myers, Florida. It opened on April 21, 1984, and is operated by the Lee County Department of Parks and Recreation. The park was named after its main feature: 158 acres of man-made freshwater lakes. The lakes were formed by a rock mine that operated on the property in the 1960s. The park is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail as well as Lee County's Tour de Parks bicycle route along with the John Yarbrough Linear Park and other locations.
The Seaboard–All Florida Railway was a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that oversaw two major extensions of the system in the early 1920s to southern Florida on each coast during the land boom. One line extended the Seaboard's tracks on the east coast from West Palm Beach down to Miami, while the other extension on the west coast extended the tracks from Fort Ogden south to Fort Myers and Naples, with branches from Fort Myers to LaBelle and Punta Rassa. These two extensions were heavily championed by Seaboard president S. Davies Warfield, and were constructed by Foley Brothers railroad contractors. Both extensions also allowed the Seaboard to better compete with the Florida East Coast Railway and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, who already served the lower east and west coasts of Florida respectively.
Daniels Parkway, originally known as State Road 876 (SR 876), runs from Tamiami Trail in Fort Myers to SR 82 in Lehigh Acres. Daniels Parkway encompasses a major section of what is now County Road 876, a major east-west thoroughfare through Lee County just south of Fort Myers city limits before becoming a north-south route through Lehigh Acres and Buckingham, also encompassing Cypress Lake Drive, Gunnery Road, and Buckingham Road.
John Yarbrough may refer to:
The Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve is a 3,500 acre wetland, located in Fort Myers, Florida, which filters rainwater on its way towards Estero Bay. The preserve contains a 1.2-mile boardwalk trail, interpretive center, and amphitheater. The slough is a nine mile long, one-third of a mile wide, wildlife corridor, providing a safe way for animals to travel within the Fort Myers city limits. A 57-square-mile watershed drains into the slough.
