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Cape Coral's 45th Anniversary

45 years and counting

In August 1970, nearly 4,000 Cape Coral voters went to the polls with one key issue on their mind - to approve incorporation, or not. While the vote was close, Cape Coral was to become a city. The final tally was 2,067 to 1,798.Way back then, as compared today, there were few residences, few businesses, few "finished" streets and vacant lots as far as the eye could see.Much has changed in the last 45 years, though, and Cape Coral has become a thriving, expansive city. Many of the issues from 1970 do still exist today - how to deal with continuing development, infrastructure updates and ...

Incorporation: from dream to reality

With a growing population approaching 15,000 and general concerns that the Lee County government was not meeting the city's needs and services, Cape Coral residents decided in the late 1960s that it was time for the city to become incorporated."Cape Coral was the dream of the Rosen Brothers, ...

Incorporation time line

(Editor's note: The following items were taken directly from the headlines published in The Cape Coral Breeze from 1969-1974)1969 July - Population tops 12,000 July - Formal incorporation talks begin November - Committee recommends incorporation December - Population nearly 13,5001970 February - Bill formally requesting incorporation referendum presented to legislative delegates April - Cape voter registration tops 5,200 April - Population tops 14,000 June - Cape incorporation bill introduced in House June - Cape incorporation bill OK'd by Senate July - County Commission to vote on ...

Cape Coral’s mayors and council members through the years

(Editor's note: The following information was provided by the Cape Coral City Clerk's office.)Cape Coral's Mayors Paul Fickinger - 12/70 to 01/73 Chandler Burton - 01/73 to 05/74 Herman Horton - 05/74 to 11/75 Don Graf - 11/75 to 11/77 Lyman Moore - 11/77 to 10/80 Bernie Langguth - 11/80 to ...

Pioneering businesses faced struggles

Elmer Tabor knows better than anyone how difficult it is to start a business. After all, it was his father that started the first grocery store in Cape Coral when all of 13 families lived there.Thus was the life for the early pioneers of Cape Coral who went through the growing pains of a small ...

Cape has long history of social, service groups

From the very beginning, Cape Coral has been known as a city full of people who give back by donating time, services or just being there for people of certain nationalities.In the beginning that was especially important, since few people lived there and everybody needed each other in order to ...