Lee

Formed May 13, 1887 (41^st county)

Lee County (760,820), Fort Myers (86,401), Cape Coral (193,994)

The Modern design is the current courthouse.  Located on MLK Boulevard between Main Street and Monroe Street, this structure was built in 1984.  United States Highway 41 is two blocks west of the courthouse.  Watson & Company are the courthouse architects.  Major renovations occurred in 2010 with additions to include a large skyscraper.  A County Administration Center augments the courthouse since 1962.  There were courthouses dating from 1894 and 1915, all in Fort Myers.  The county was named for General Robert E. Lee.  The county seat’s name originates from Colonel Abraham C. Myers.  Monroe County provided the land for Lee County on May 13, 1887 as the 41^st county. 

Lee County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Thirty-one Circuit Court Judges serve Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Hendry counties and Eight County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Lee County (judicial.) The county is situated in southwest Florida on the Gulf of Mexico.  Miami, Florida is southeast and Tampa, Florida is north of the county.  The center of the county is 7.1 miles West-Northwest of Fort Myers in Cape Coral.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Charlotte, Glades, Hendry and Collier counties and the Gulf of Mexico. 

The area of the county is 804 square miles.  It is 24 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 8 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 946.3 persons per square mile making it 8 out of 67 in the state.  Lee County has 50.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 75 enters from Charlotte County to the north and exits into Collier County to the south.  United States Highway 41 parallels Interstate Highway 75 from Charlotte County to Collier County.  The county’s shape is a triangle facing northeast plus a hook line of barrier islands on the northwest.  Fort Myers is near the center of the county.  Cape Coral is in the northwest corner on the coast.  Fort Myers is the county seat and Cape Coral is the largest city.  Fort Myers is 11.4% of the county population while Cape Coral is 25.5% of the county population.  This county is in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area.