Fort Myers dates to 1886, and 15 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 49% of U.S. towns · #75 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Fort Myers was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. 15 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 76 buildings between them. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1908 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1876.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Fort Myers’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Fort Myers is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #75 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Fort Myers’ overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Fort Myers ranks #247 on History.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Fort Myers’ 15.6 sits above most of its state (87% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 148 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
Newer cities are common at Fort Myers’ size: in the typical U.S. city of 100,000 or more, 5% of homes predate 1940.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1886.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Fort Myers’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Fort Myers, building by building, 1908–1930
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
According to some historians, the Calusa capital was located near Fort Myers. Following European contact, Spain had colonial influence in Florida, succeeded by Great Britain and lastly the United States.
During the Second Seminole War, the U.S. Army operated Fort Dulaney at Punta Rassa, at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. When a hurricane destroyed Fort Dulaney in October 1841, army operations were moved up the Caloosahatchee River to a site named Fort Harvie. Fort Harvie was abandoned in 1842, as the Second Seminole War wound down. After the Paynes Creek incident in 1849, the Army returned to the Caloosahatchee River in 1850.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1886, according to Wikidata. Fort Myers’ post office opened in 1876, and the census of 1890 counted 575 people here.
How does Fort Myers rank for history?
Fort Myers is more historic than 49% of U.S. towns, #75 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Fort Myers?
15 listings: 12 buildings, among them the Murphy-Burroughs House (listed 1984, the first), 2 historic districts, the Fort Myers Downtown Commercial District and the Edison, Thomas, Winter Estate, with 76 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 148 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Fort Myers?
3% of Fort Myers’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 2001.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (13), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (15), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1900
1900
1900
1902
1903
1903
1909
1909
1909
1909
1909
1909
1909
c. 1909
1914
