Lee County is located in southwestern Florida on the Gulf Coast. As of the 2020 census, the population was 760,822. The county seat is Fort Myers (with a population of 86,395 as of the 2020 census), and the largest city is Cape Coral with an estimated 2020 population of 194,016. The county comprises the Cape Coral–Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Lee County was established in 1887 from Monroe County. Fort Myers is the county seat and a center of tourism in Southwest Florida. It is about south of Tampa at the meeting point of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caloosahatchee River. Lee County is the home for spring training of the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball teams. History Protohistory and European contact (500-1799) The area that is now Lee County has several archaeological sites that show evidence of habitation by peoples belonging to the Caloosahatchee culture (500 AD to 1750 AD). By the time of European contact, the area was more specifically occupied by the Calusa. After European contact, fishermen from Cuba and other Spanish colonies set up fishing camps, known as "ranchos", on the southern portion of the Gulf Coast of Florida. These ranchos extended from Charlotte Harbor (estuary) down to San Carlos Bay and the mouth of the Caloosahatchee. These ranchos, likely established in the latter parts of the 1600's, were precursors to the larger European settlements that would be established in the following centuries. As the 18th century came to an end, the Calusa who had once inhabited the area were replaced with the Seminole. In particular, in 1799, an Indian agent noted the existence of a Seminole town on the "Cull-oo-saw-hat-che" or Caloosahatchee River. Fort established (1850s–1860s) After Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, a number of settlers moved into Florida, causing conflict with the local Seminole Indians. Fort Myers was built in 1850 as a military fort to fend off Seminole Indians during the Seminole Wars. The fort was named after Col. Abraham C. Myers, who was stationed in Florida for seven years and was the son-in-law of the fort's establisher and commander. In 1858, after years of elusive battle, Chief Billy Bowlegs and his warriors were persuaded to surrender and move west, and the fort was abandoned. Billy's Creek, which flows into the Caloosahatchee River, was named after a temporary camp where Billy Bowlegs and his men