Fort Myers also known as "City of Palms" is a gateway to the Southwest Florida region and a major tourist destination within Florida. Home to the winter estates of Thomas Edison ("Seminole Lodge") and Henry Ford ("The Mangoes"). The city is named after Colonel Abraham Myers, the quartermaster general of the Confederate States Army. As of the 2019 U.S. Census, the population was estimated at 87,103. Spain originally had colonial influence in Florida, succeeded by Great Britain and lastly the United States.