Urban & Agricultural Field trip #8

Before watching Untold Stories of Ft Myers I and II and visiting Down town Ft Myers, I never gave to much thought on my surrounding's history. In the mid 1800's Ft Myers was one of the first forts build along the Caloosahatchee River as a base to fight against the area's current residents, the Seminoles. Years after the war people came to Ft Myers in search of material. Bamboo was known to grow in Ft Myers and this is one of the reasons what drew Thomas Edison to the area. Edison was captivated by Ft Myers's beauty that he decided to build his home, laboratory, and, Seminole Lodge, on the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. Edison became Ft Myers most famous resident and was the cause of Ft Myers's growth and development. Hendry Ford moved to Ft Myers after Edison encouraged him to quit his job in New York and pay full attention in fulfilling his lifelong dream of building a gasoline driven automobile. During my experience in Downtime Ft Myers I was able to walk through the first Arcade build in Ft Myers where Edison enjoyed attending.  During the depression Ft Myers suffered just like the other parts of the United States. A combination of poor publicity, hurricanes, and inadequate planning brought a end to Florida's thriving growth. Nonetheless, during this difficult time of the country, Ft Myers still managed to build the Federal building and the Edison Bridge was constructed making it easy to travel to the north. Through war, depression, and prosperity Ft Myers has evolved and led Lee County into the future.