Fort Myers & Sanibel/Lee County Traveler's Guide 2008 - (Page 57) Schoolhouse Theater Wild Child Gallery Billy Bowlegs Uncommon Friends statue featuring Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford in Centennial Park, downtown Fort Myers Environmental Learning Center (a.k.a. the Mound House) on Fort Myers Beach and on Useppa Island. Calusa dominance of the region ended in 1513 with the arrival of the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. For more than 200 years, the Spanish sought to control the Calusa. Fighting and Europeanborne disease diminished their numbers greatly, and it’s believed the remaining Calusa fled to Cuba, a destination for fish and cattle from Southwest Florida during the 18th and 19th centuries. Near the turn of the last century, pioneer settlers made their way to the pine flatwoods and open prairies in the Fort Myers area to fell and mill lumber. Agriculturalists established citrus and tropical fruit plantations on the islands, and people came to work the fields. Fishermen flocked to the coastal areas and eked out a hard and salty existence. W W W. F O R T M Y E R S - S A N I B E L . C O M | PAGE 57 http://WWW.FORTMYERS-SANIBEL.COM
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