Lee County, Florida

Lee County Education, Geography, and History

Lee County is a county in the State of Florida. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 618,754. Lee County was created on May 13, 1887 from Monroe County. The county seat is Fort Myers, and the largest city is Cape Coral. This county is named for Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War.

Lee County comprises the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Lee County Name

This county is named for Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Lee County History

Lee County was created in 1887 from Monroe County. The county is named for Robert E. Lee, Confederate general in the American Civil War.

Incorporated in 1886, Fort Myers is the center of a popular tourist area in Southwest Florida and the seat of Lee County. It is located about 120 miles south of Tampa at the meeting point of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caloosahatchee River.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,212 square miles (3,139 km²), of which, 804 square miles (2,081 km²) of it is land and 408 square miles (1,057 km²) of it (33.69%) is water.

Lee County is located on the southwest coast of Florida. Caloosahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge, and Pine Island National Wildlife Refuge are located in Lee county.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Charlotte County
• Northeast: Glades County
• East: Hendry County
• Southeast: Collier County
• West: Gulf of Mexico
  

Education

There are multiple colleges in Lee County. They include: Florida Gulf Coast University, Barry University, Nova Southeastern University, Florida SouthWestern State College, Cape Coral Technical College, Fort Myers Technical College Hodges University, ITT Technical Institute, Keiser University, Southern Technical College and Rasmussen College.

Florida Gulf Coast University (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 Atlantic Sun Conference in NCAA Division I sports. FGCU is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate's, 51 different types of bachelor's, 29 different master's, and 6 types of doctoral degrees

Compare More Colleges and Universities

Find more schools to match to your needs.

Start Now