Original Seawall, Fort Myers, Florida
Posted by: 
BoomersOTR
N 26° 38.708 W 081° 52.241
17R E 413343 N 2947426
Portion of the original 1907 seawall located in the Fort Myers Downtown River District area.
Waymark Code: WMV4KQ
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 02/22/2017
Views: 8
Tootie McGregor Terry was a wealthy Fort Myers benefactress during the late 1890's and early 1900's. She was instrumental in a number of Fort Myers improvements. One such being the construction of a seawall in the downtown area.
In 1907 she proposed construction of a seawall to be built 200 feet from the shore of the Caloosahatchee River and filled in. This seawall would run from Billy Bowlegs Creek to Monroe Street and include a 75 foot wide waterfront walkway. It was her hope to replace the garbage dump and sewage stinking rivers edge into a place of beauty. Unfortunately the town council didn't support the walkway but was interested and did approve the seawall project. On April 10, 1908, Tootie McGregor Terry swung a mallet to start the first piling of the new seawall.
A portion of the original seawall has been preserved and the following plaque marks its location:
ORIGINAL SEAWALL
In 1907, Dr. Marshall O. and Tootie McGregor Terry, City of Fort Myers' benefactors, proposed to improve the riverfront by constructing a seawall and riverfront boulevard from Monroe Street to Billy's Creek. Tootie "drove" the first piling for the original seawall in 1908 and construction of the section from Monroe Street to Jackson Street was completed in 1912. Infill allowed the seawall to be built 200 feet from the existing shore giving riverfront property owners more land and allowing for a riverfront boulevard, now known as Bay Street.
THIS PIECE OF HISTORIC SEAWALL EMBEDDED IN THE BASIN PROJECT MARKS THE LOCATION OF THE ORIGINAL SEAWALL.
Marker Number: 0
Date: December 7, 2012
County: Lee
Marker Type: Plaque
Sponsored or placed by: City of Fort Myers Riverfront Basin Project
Website: Not listed
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